A wood carving star
by Arobaze
Summary: Another OC insert. What if Yuan and Martel's secret daughter that was sleeping during 3000 years joined our favorite party? Adventure, Friendship, and eventual Romance. Rated T for minor violence. My summary sucks. Chapter 11: Drama again, don't we all love it?
1. Prologue

-A wood carving star, Prologue-

**Here is my first story ! :D This is only the prologue, so it's reeeaaally short and you won't understand much but everything will be sorted out in the next chappies ;). The first chapters will be a bit slow but it should start getting interesting afterwards :p Also, I never intended to post it but when I saw that I so into it, I decided against it XD Please don't hesitate to give me constructive advices if you think I did things wrong or whatever, I hope you'll like it XD  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia, I only own Kaylin.**

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Stars are beautiful, aren't they? Wherever you are, they're here, by your side. Even in a different town, or a different country, they'll always be there, those comforting little lights. When I look at them, I feel home. It's kind of lame considering they're just balls of gas, but there's something about them that's soothing and familiar.

My name is Kaylin and stargazing is my favourite thing to do. Mom once told me that a really good friend of hers had the same weird hobby. She rarely talks about when she was alive, perhaps she regrets things she has done, or she's just sad talking about it.

Mom is a really strong person, even after her death. In fact, I think she's the kindest person I've ever met. Yadiel, my caretaker, told me that I inherited of that kindness but I'm not so sure myself. I like to tell myself that I took more after my father, even if I never met him. Mom was never reluctant of talking about Dad, she would talk fondly of him for hours, making me longing to meet him someday.

Sadly, my father never heard of me, he had a lot on his shoulders when my mother discovered her pregnancy and she could never contact him after her death. So I'm kind of stuck here, on those floating islands, waiting for the Chosen of Mana to reunite the worlds so I can one day meet my father, somewhere in Sylvarant. Well, I would have done that if it wasn't for me to screw everything up on that day.

My story started 3000 years ago, when Mithos the hero and his companions tried to put an end to the Kharlan war. My parents were two of them, my mother being his sister and my father being their friend. During their journey, Mom discovered that she was pregnant, a little baby girl. She managed to hid it and gave birth to me in secret, leaving me to her close friend and waiting for the end of the war to come back for me. She only left me her exsphere and her engagement ring. She also put a spell on me, using nearly all her mana and doing the impossible: she put me to sleep, allowing me to wake up only when she decided to, wanting my dad to be the first face I saw.

However, what she did not know was that she was going to be betrayed in the worst possible way. After ending the war, a human she trusted killed her for being a half-elf, seeing her defensless without her exsphere. Her body died, but her soul somehow stayed within the small stone, for she watched over me all these years.

As things got worse and Mithos, blinded with rage, swore to create a soulless world in order to stop discrimination, my mother chose to wait for the worlds to be at peace again. So she listened to everyone's prayers addressed to her, as all the Chosens died, failing at being a host body for her, as she was tied to her exsphere. She listened and wept, seeing everything her dear brother had done to both worlds. She never heard her dear friends' voices neither her brother's and she quietly waited. She vowed to make her daughter live in a peaceful world but she wanted her to understand the value of life and not to repeat her brother's mistakes. To filfull her wish, she had to give up all hope of coming to life again but she made her decision and it was stated that her baby, that was only a few months old, would only wake up when the Chosen that would stop her brother's madness was born.

That went on for thousands of years but, 16 years ago, I woke up.

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**And here the story begins! I spent ages on that plot so don't sue me XD**

**Just for the short story, 'A wood carving star' is part of the soundtrack, so check it on Youtube or something, it's really cute :3**

**Review! :D**


	2. Chapter 1: Free falling

Chapter 1, Free falling

**Here is the first chapter, thanks to my first reviewer for waiting XD Other things are explained in there, and you get to know a little bit of Kaylin's personality, but she will graduatly become more mature and confident as the story goes on. **

**We're now one chapter away from her encounter with the party, it should get interesting later on.**

**Review! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do own Tales of Symphonia...or not :(**

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I woke up 16 years ago, and was raised by my mom's friend's descendant, in Exire. She has always treated me kindly and with respect, but I could tell that she never saw me as a normal kid. Yadiel was the straight-forward type, and the only priestess on the islands. I never called her 'mother' when it was just the two of us and there was no denying that she didn't look like me. She had the same cyan hair, except hers was shorter and a lighter shade but that was it. When she had sky blue eyes, I had green ones, when she had a long nose, mine was short, and there was the fact that she had no husband or whatsoever and **that** was some fabric for rumors. To be more specific, her life was a lot more complicated because of me. But happily, there was mom.

Mom's exsphere is only activated when I go to the church, ironically, but I'm glad I can visit her two times a week. The thing is, I always have to go there by night because I have to keep the secret from the villagers, and you know how rumors are in a small village like that, Yadiel had enough to deal with. That didn't stop my mother to teach me everything she knew, including fighting and learning angelic, for the day I left to find my father.

I still went to school and did nothing, because Exire is such a small place.

All in all, everything was really peaceful and boring until that special day, six months ago.

That day matched to the appearance of the Tower of Salvation in Sylvarant. It was a long awaited day for me, because it gave me hope for the future, and I knew a lot more about it than anyone, including my... uncle, Mithos Yggdrasill. It was so weird knowing that the worlds were about to be reunited. Knowing that Sylvarant existed was a pretty big thing itself, but knowing the future?

Of course, I wanted very much to share my knowledge with my friends as a kid, but I guess I realized how important it was in the meantime.

Anyways, that day the Tower appeared, and, during the afternoon, I grew sick, the sickest I've ever been. My back hurt like hell and I nearly passed out as I made my way to my house.

And then it happened. Wings. Wings grew on my back, vibrant green wings. They tore through my skin and clothes, and spread in an agonizing pain. I thought my back had exploded. I fell to the ground on my knees and curled into a ball as pain filled my vision and brain. All I could think about was how it hurt, and I couldn't even scream, I couldn't even cry. And goddess, I wanted it to stop.

After what seemed like hours ago, a man found me lying there.

I frightened a lot of people that day, some of them thought I was a Cruxis angel sent to bring destruction upon them. And yes they were scared shitless of Cruxis, having to deal with them several times a year about the Summon Spirit Maxwell. Some of them... just couldn't look at me in the eye anymore. I was a monster to them, the winged freak. I was truly ashamed at first, I admit, but then that meant they insulted my mother too. Weren't they all hiding from the humans treating them that way in the first place? Did that make them feel better or something? I was disgusted. They were the freaks. Those who saw me were asked to keep the secret, especially from Cruxis, but the harm was done: people started ignoring me, my friends weren't allowed to stay near me anymore, there wasn't a day where I didn't receive any look of fear or disgust. Only their respect for Yadiel kept me from being bullied. I can't say that I was happy, but I wasn't that unhappy either, I try not to think about it so much. Afterall, wings have qualities too.

I wake up to a ray of sunlight teasing my left eye. Sunday.

Yawning after a few minutes, I stretch and sit cross-legged on my bed. I smile as I look out the window: today was going to be windy for sure. Judging from the position of the sun, it must be... around 9-10 in the morning? Maybe 11, in fact. Frowning, I get up and get quickly changed in warm, practical clothes. Don't wanna catch a cold on such a good day too.

I go downstairs and smile goofily as I step into the chilly autumn air. A perfect day indeed. I wince as the cold bites my hot cheeks and let my eyes adjust to the sudden luminosity. I adjust my deep blue coat on my shoulders and take a lung-full of fresh air. I love wearing my coat, it's comfy and warm, plus there's a hood and I can hide my face when I don't want to be recognized. It's pretty useful on windy days like this too. I smile again to the wind, grateful.

Under the cloth, I pull on the little triggers that allows me to let my wings go through the fabric without damaging it. I did it myself, it took me ages but I was so tired of wearing torn clothes that I came up with the idea in only two weeks.

I feel my heart fluttering as I make up my mind: I'm going to fly today.

Half-laughing, I run down the floating islands as I did when I was little, knowing the path by heart. My braided cyan hair bounces against my back and I find myself humming, genuinely happy.

I love the wind, I discovered you could do wicked moves while flying when it's windy.

I run past a few people, sticking my tongue at them when I see them staring. They're not going to ruin my day. I laugh light-heartily when I see their surprised faces.

Out of breath, I finally arrive to my favorite spot, a half-destroyed house on the bottom island. I found the place years ago, when playing hide and seek. This place is perfect because nobody comes here and nobody will see you from the upper islands as the vegetation blocks your view.

I caress the old ruins with the tip of my fingers and sit there quietly for a moment, listening to the wind whistling in my pointy ears.

Then, out of the blue, I stand up on the stone wall and a smirk plays on my lips, then I throw myself off the edge.

I hear my crystalline laugh before I even realize I'm laughing. I free fall for a few seconds and tighten my coat around me. I then jerk on the triggers and lash out my wings. And there it is, the ecstasy, the pure dope spreading through my veins as I fly within the dashing wind. I play with it, carefree, body and eyes burning and head in the stars, begging for more.

I fly for what seems like hours, not caring about what people would think if they saw me. They wouldn't notice, anyways, I always made sure there was a good distance between the islands and I. Mom would never know either, she's cut off from the world, soul trapped in my exsphere. That's why she can't understand my need to go away. She recalled the world as a dangerous place to live in, she thinks I might get hurt by Humans, by Elves, by the Cruxis if I were to leave the islands.

But, is it what life really means? Should I be sheltered here all my life, I who never landed a foot on the Ground?

That's not what I want. I want to see the world for myself, I want to meet humans too! Mom's best friend was human and he didn't hate her. I believe some humans are kind to people like us, I believe the world is worth discovering, I can't learn everything from books! Damn, I even learned how to fight, I can defend myself! Exire is just a bunch of paranoiac freaks who are just too weak to understand.

I did a looping easily, almost without thinking, and unleashed my anger and frustration as I spun around a few times. It's not like I could just leave like this anyways. Smiling bitterly, I try to cheer myself up as I decide to try out a final move before coming back. I smirk at the thought, this would certainly be the most dangerous and exhausting move I could pull out. But there was no going back, I laughed to myself.

"I must be out of my mind, really!" I shout to the clouded skies.

Dashing through the clouds, I stretch my wings like crazy and head towards the ground at full speed. Drops in my eyelashes, I laugh maniacally after a few meters as I finally catch a glimpse of the Ground. Getting closer and closer, I start screaming and my laugh is strangled by my dry throat, I'm burning. Adrenaline shots through me, I'm a pure ball of energy, I've never felt so alive. I can feel every single parcel of my body against the pressure of the fresh air, I'm literally high.

Bending all my muscles, at the last moment, a good 10 meters above a grassy plain, I flap my wings and go up in a perfect curve, grinning boyishly. Now that every single muscle of my body is sore, I contemplate the landscapes, at peace. This was only the second time I was that close to the Ground, and it was just as breathtaking. I can see some mountains, the Gaoracchia forest and the ocean, so that big city should be Meltokio, right? I tear myself from the amazing sight and it's with stars in my eyes, disheveled, cheeks flushed, and utterly exhausted that I head back to Exire.

Geez, I could stay there forever. In fact, I could get away easily. Travel a bit, find a job. Then, maybe settle down in a small house by the sea, far away from the city's pollution, where I could see the stars! Or maybe I could go to Flanoir! It has always been my dream to go there, see snow for the first time, cuddle next to a fireplace, maybe befriend a human too! There are tons of things to do and see!

But I guess I'm more mature than that, I know I can't do that, Yadiel and mom would be worried sick. I can't just leave them like that... But what if the Chosen saved the worlds when I turned 40 or something? Maybe I could talk mom into it when I get back.

Sighing, I come closer and closer to the islands when something brown catches my eye.

Startled, I stop and turn around: nothing, must have been a bird. Upset of getting distracted so easily and ruining my regular pace, I continue flying in the same direction but this time, I hear something, distinctly, something like heavy wings flapping. And it isn't coming from me. No way. I slowly look up and see a form with big brownish wings, just above me.

Holy shit, this is bad, this is reeaally bad, because that form is a freaking Cruxis angel. Its cold crimson eyes stare at me without looking, two bottomless pits of blood. A cold shiver comes down my spine and gives me goosebumps as my brain proceeds what's happening.

"Ok, back out slowly Kaylin, and everything's gonna be alright. Slooowly."

If the angel had decided to chase me, he (or she?) didn't flinch when I started backing out in slow-motion. However, my wings were sore from the three hours spent flying and especially from my last grand move. Damn me, I knew there were some Cruxis angels patrolling, but I didn't thought for a second that I could actually meet one. I felt my wings tire.

At this rate, I was either going to fall or make a bad move and then get fried. And seriously, I'd take the first one in a heart-beat. But what should've happened happened: my wings twitched and I fell from a few inches. That was enough for the zombi- err Cruxis angel to start heading towards me.

"Non-identified soldier in zone A09, please provide an identification."

Quick Kaylin, think fast!

I only let out a little squeak, and my heart skipped a beat. The angel's eyes then started to glim with a strange light as he rose his bow and aimed at me.

"I repeat, provide an identification."

Its toneless voice rungs through me like an alarm and I found myself petrified and at a loss of words again. I was going to die.

"Neutralization of the intruder." It simply said, and I threw myself aside, regaining my senses.

Then my side exploded and the world turned black.

"… Mom... I'm sorry."

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**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 2: The Ground

**Here is chapter 2! Where Kaylin finally meets the group! I've been looking forward to post this one and I worked super hard on it.**

**I hope you guys like it, please tell me if you think Kaylin is too dumb in this one XD I can't make up my mind :o**

**Also, I changed the day when Kaylin had her wings in chapter 1. It now dates from 6 months, not 2; I figured that would be a more decent time period for their journey in Sylvarant.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ToS, but if I did, Lloyd would be my son in law.**

**Please review!**

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Darkness. Darkness surrounding me, darkness everywhere. That's the only thing I feel. Emptiness. My body doesn't exist, I don't even feel my injuries. Why would I have injuries in the first place? … Oh wait, right, the angel. I remember falling. I must be dead then, but I must say I'm quite disappointed. I figured I'd die as an old geezer, I don't know, in my bed or something. Why did I have to fly that day anyways? Well, what's done is done right? Better not think about it anyways, it was my stupid fault all along. And it was a really good day too...

Oh I can hear voices now? Are there dead people's voices in the afterlife too? Oh, wait a minute, is there grass in there as well? Cause I definitely feel grass underneath me, and I smell sweat too, gross. I try to focus more on the grass-feeling and the voices, hearing more distinctly every now and then. Mmh? A woman's voice right? I can't quite figure what she's talking about but I can feel a soft and firm voice, just like Yadiel's.

… Could it be her? I struggle to open my eyes but my eyelids seem glued, I try to wiggle my fingers but I feel nothing, only that weird grass-feeling under my back. I turn my attention back to the voices, only catching a few words, not making any sense.

"... I wonder about... Must cast a... Quickly pass me the... Stop whining Genis... I'm still curious about... Apple gels won't do... For now let her..."

What is she talking about? Who is Genis? Out of frustration, I let out a small cry, remembering how to talk. I feel agitation above me and the red light behind my eyelids is gone. Wait, was that even there all that time?

"Did you hear that?" I hear a teenage boy shouting, a hint of excitement in his voice.

"-Yes, it seems she's coming back to consciousness" Oh, that one is the woman's voice.

"-Your healing skills really went up since you got the unicorn's horn. You wouldn't have been able to heal an injury that bad a few months ago." another woman's voice comments bitterly.

What are they even talking about? A unicorn? That's ridiculous, did I hit my head or something? As I try to move my upper body, I feel a sharp pain coming from my abdomen and gasp, fluttering my eyes open. I then meet 3 pairs of eyes, a few inches from my face. I let out another small squeak, surprised. Man, I can't handle a fall from freaking 40 meters AND a heart-attack on the same day! I stand awkwardly on my elbows as I try to set down my heartbeats, breathing slowly and ignoring the pain from my abdomen.

Blinking, I enumerate the facts:

Okay, first, I'm alive, somehow, which is great. Um, second, I'm on the Ground, which is... not especially good or bad? And third, I'm surrounded by strangers who talk nonsense, or maybe I'm just nuts. Great.

I notice a woman kneeling before me, with shoulder-length silver hair, looking slightly wary. With my awesome deduction senses, I'd say she's the one who was talking earlier.

… But there were two women if I recall. Looking around, I quickly spot a boy with chocolate brown eyes and hair, a genuinely curious look on his face. Moving on, I'm able to spot the other woman. This one has dark hair styled up in a messy bun and a purple kimono. Was she a ninja or something? The silver-haired woman, apparently tired of me staring at them, started talking.

"We saw you lying here a few moments ago and healed your wounds, can you tell where we are at the moment?"

I open my mouth, only to close it again and frown. I truthfully have no idea. Maybe somewhere on the western continent?

"We're a few hours away from Meltokio, it seems." She continues. "How many fingers do you count?" She says slowly, holding up 4 fingers.

I manage to recover my voice, still dizzy, "I...4... But, how come I'm still alive after..." I stop. I almost mentioned my fall.

That wouldn't be wise to talk about my wings while I was still weak, they could walk out on me and leave me like this... Or worse actually, a lot worse than that. Exire's people had to deal with Cruxis more than any other town but it was best not to say anything, I don't want to be called winged freak either.

"After that injury?" I sigh in relief, she doesn't suspect anything. "Fortunately, I was here in time to heal you. A few hours later and you were dead. Now what I'm curious about is: how did you end up with such a dreadful wound? Can you remember anything at all?" I gulp as I consider this option. I can't talk about Exire, right? And I'm not even mentioning the Cruxis angel, that would imply too much lies to hide my wings and stuff.

"I... I can't really remember..." I furrow my brows, pretending to try hard, and then shook my head.

Her gaze immediately softens in sympathy. "You might have a head concussion then, how far do you remember?" I kind of feel guilty lying to her like that, I mean, she probably saved my life here! But it's for the best. Exire is a state secret after all.

"Um... I... still feel a bit dizzy..." I say lamely, not thinking about any plausible story. Well, my head DOES hurt a bit... I think.

"Oh, right, maybe it'll come back to you in a few moments then." She furrows her brows at that. Crap, she doesn't believe me. "You sure can remember your name at least." She says in a statement, not a question.

"Kaylin." I simply say.

"... Fine, Kaylin. We need to get you to the next city so you can rest properly."

I nod and look around me some more, stealing glances to the rest of the group. I then realize there are two more people standing a few steps away. First is a young boy with spiky silver hair. He's peeking at me from behind the other boy's shoulder and doesn't look older than 13 or so. I quickly understand he's related to the silver-haired woman kneeling beside me. Then, standing apart from the rest of the group, is a girl. She's facing the other side of the plain, so I can only see her back, and her long golden hair swaying in the wind.

"...up?" I suddenly hear from beside me.

"Excuse me?" I answer, blinking.

The woman looks slightly annoyed as she asks me once again, "I said, can you get up?"

She got up herself, and brushed the grass out of her pants.

"Sure!" I answered, getting up. Bad idea.

As soon as I got up, my head exploded and my eyes were filled with a million of color, sending me crashing to the ground.

"Ooow, screw getting up" I cursed under my breath, head throbbing.

"Raine." The teenage boy intervened. "I think she hasn't recovered entirely just yet."

No shit, how could you tell? Man, it's like someone is constantly throwing hammers at my head.

Out of the blue, I notice the guy is wearing an awfully ridiculous red outfit. Hehe. I snicker but a violent headache makes me stop in my trains of thoughts. Owiie. I set my head between my knees, hoping it would make it go away, somehow.

"I assume she really has a head concussion then..." finally says 'Raine', thoughtful. What? I thought she totally believed me back then? Oh well, now she does at least.

"Lloyd, would you mind carrying her until we find an inn?" Okay, so the fashion disaster is called Lloyd, right? Another blow sends my head back between my knees. Okay, okay no thinking, got it. Goddess dammit.

Next thing I knew, I was on Lloyd's back, staring at the back of his head. That's when I realized something I should have noticed since the beginning; I gaped in shock, staring at Lloyd's ears. They were... round. As in, human ears! A human! He's a human! I'm sitting on the back of a freacking human! I did it! I met my first human! Holy shit... A... Human...

With that thought, I once again slowly drifted into unconsciousness, rocked by the regular swaying of Lloyd's very human back...

When I finally wake up, I'm in a dark place, again. But this one is slightly different because I can feel bed sheets around me as well as a faint snoring coming from my right. I let my eyes adjust to the darkness and tried to figure out where the heck I was. I got back to my senses and tried to stretch.. Bad idea. My abdomen and sides hurt like hell and my headache wasn't gone yet, plus, my muscles were still sore from my flying session. Meh. Wait, how did I get here again?

Ooh, right, the group of travelers, huh? Surely they didn't notice I was a half-elf or they would've let me die there, I was lucky. Hmh? What was I talking about anyway? Oh that's... Holy crap! I forgot! I met humans! I sat up quickly at the realization, head doing well. Wow, I met them, talked to them, and then Lloyd carried me and... And what? I couldn't remember what happened afterward. Must have fallen asleep or something. I stretched and found myself wondering about Yadiel and the others. How did they react? Are they missing me at all? Did they notice in the first place? Are they happy about it? I frowned slightly and stepped out of the bed, shaking my head. It was useless asking about things that could never be answered, I needed to focus more on what was to come. But... What would I do?

My first guess would be coming back to Exire, but I had no way of knowing where it was now, plus, I couldn't just fly off in public like that, I'd need to meet some people in Meltokio and persuade them to take me with them as well as the groceries they brought to Exire every month.

Or, maybe I could... Just begin my long-awaited journey earlier? I couldn't wait for the Chosen to save the worlds of my life, couldn't I? This was the perfect opportunity! I just had to look around a bit, finding one person couldn't be that hard, right?

Smiling to myself, I became more aware of my surroundings as I looked around the room. The form lying on my right happened to have midnight spiky hair, so I'd guess it was kimono girl. She was staring at me the whole time without saying a word yesterday. Creepy.

… Oh wait, I did the same thing, forget it then.

I then proceeded on checking my ability to walk at the moment. Feet: okay. Knees: okay. Head: okay. Arrgh, balance, not okay! With a scream, I fell face first on the floor, feet tangled in the bedsheets. I sighed in relief, thankfully, nobody saw noth...

"Err, what do you think you're doing?" Crap. I looked up at a very surprised kimono girl, obviously woken up by the creepy moving carpet, aka me.

"Learning how to crawl?" I tried, with no shame at all. I then proceeded to crawl across the room, like it was no big deal. And failed.

I could almost hear her face-palm.

"At 3 in the morning?" She tried to remain serious, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

"Umm, well, better late than never?" She chuckled silently, but eventually helped me up, smirking.

Sensing an awkward silence coming, I sat on my bed and tried to think of something.

"Err, actually, what's your name? I can't call you kimono girl forever or that'd be a bit weird." I blurted out without thinking. Gladly, the room was dark so she couldn't see me blushing. Geez, me and my big mouth... So far, she probably thought I was an idiot. I swung my legs nervously, hitting the wooden bed with my bare heels.

"Call me Sheena." She said after a few seconds, giving me a look but not questioning the nickname.

She then sighed, combing her messy hair with her fingers. "You should get back to sleep now, okay? We can talk in the morning."

I could've said that, technically, it WAS the morning, but I was tired too, so screw it.

But, hey, 3 o'clock? That meant I had slept in the whole day and night! What a lazy ass, sleeping on the most important day of my life.

"G'night Sheena" I said, burying myself under the covers.

"... Good night." I heard faintly.

The world then blurred for the third time that day, a soft familiar lullaby helping me back to sleep.

I woke up a few hours later, only to find Sheena's bed empty. Getting up, I quickly spotted my clothes, folded on a chair by my bed, my boots lined there as well. I wrinkled my nose as I had a look at my linen shirt: there was dried blood everywhere and a huge whole at the bottom. Well, I obviously had to throw it. I sighed and continued my inspection. The pants and gloves were okay and my hooded cape was edible, nothing I couldn't fix. My boots were... Well, boots. Oh and I still had mom's exsphere on me. I sighed in relief and stroked the small stone, smiling.

I then noticed a new shirt, probably Sheena's, and thanked her under my breath as I hastily dressed up. I exited the room quietly and looked around, the soft light coming from the windows allowing me to inspect the corridor. It was a cozy looking place, with several doors , a light wooden floor and clean walls with simple furniture. The scent of bread tickled my nose and I found myself hungry. Really hungry. Heck, I was practically starving! Giving up on the quiet approach, I followed the heavenly scent and raced down to what seemed like a dining room with loads of tables. Oh! Perhaps that was an inn, right? I think the silver-haired woman mentioned it yesterday. I quickly scanned the room and noticed Raine, Lloyd and Sheena, eating. Making a bee-line for their table, I stared at the food, surrounded by a shiny light, calling for me. "Hey Kaylin, want a muffin? We wanna diiiiie!"

...Okay, maybe not. "H-hey good morning." I stammered, half to the food and half to them. Geez, I used to be more quick-tongued over the past years. Then again, it's not everyday you get to meet humans who saved your life and should talk to them over breakfast like it's no big deal.

Not without a slight pause, they eventually greet me back. Well, Raine was more looking at my injuries and had a slight bit of wariness in her gaze. Sheena, on the other hand, was smiling warmly at me. My face turned red beet as I remembered last night's events. Oh crap, I was utterly ridiculous back then. Well, my clumsiness seemed to have earned me a friend then. I decided to sit next to Sheena and grabbed a muffin. Ahaha. Mine. We all ate awkwardly quietly and I decided to eavesdrop on other stranger's conversations. What? Don't judge me, it's my first experience into the wild! Besides, those people weren't actually very quiet.

"Those disgusting dogs, thinking they could step into my shop and get away with it! The King should just have them killed already!"

I froze. They weren't talking about half-elves, right?

"I know, they should just be happy to be able to live in the slums. The King is just too good for those half-breeds. It wouldn't be that way if the Pope was in charge."

"I... I'd better leave" I blurted out without thinking, rattling my chair against the hard stone floor.

I was so... naive... There was no way I could stay with them, they would eventually discover my true nature, and then...

"What do you think you're doing?" I heard the boy in red asking.

I don't want them to see my face, so I keep my face low and let my bangs hide my green eyes.

I used too much of their time, it would be in our best interests if I left right now. I mumbled an apology and got up.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and turn my head at the sudden contact, only to see a worried face only a few inches from mine.

"What the hell are you apologizing for?" inquired the very close boy, frowning.

I squeaked and tried to regain my composure as I answered him. Deep breath.

"Well, um, you didn't invite me to your table and I realized I was being rude. Sorry about that." I force a smile to my crackled lips as I move away from the teen.

"We didn't?" He made a face.

"Thanks for the concern" I felt the need to say as I turned my back to him once more. I then set up an escape plan:

I'll quickly go to my room and leave a note somewhere. Then, I'll head to the north and look for dad. Easy.

"Well, you're welcome to stay at our table then!" Lloyd said, grinning.

Did my plan just totally backfire?

"We have been wanting to introduce ourselves properly, and maybe try to understand why you were all alone and injured in the middle of nowhere." Added Raine, eying me curiously.

Not knowing what to say, I just nodded obediently.

Lloyd then helped me back to my seat, genuinely concerned, and his face fell when I apologized once again.

The silver-haired woman then continued.

"My name is Raine, and the young woman on your right is Sheena. Genis is still upstairs, and this is Lloyd and Colette."

Huh? Another girl? I looked around and saw a blonde girl standing in the corner. I didn't notice her when I came in, but now, I could see why. This girl... She was like an empty shell. Her body was there but, something was missing. In fact, she reminded me of Cruxis angels and their soulless crimson eyes.

I slightly paled at this sight and unconsciously backed away a little, bumping into Sheena.

"As you can see, Colette is, well, sick. We're in this city because we need to cure her." The young woman said, looking at the teen with concern.

"I see..." I whisper, avoiding to look at the girl.

"Well, my name is Kaylin, and I'm very grateful for your help. I understand I'd certainly be dead if it wasn't for you and I could never repay you all." I ranted and broke into a tiny smile.

Raine was about to respond when a young boy came up to us. According to Raine's words, this little guy should be... Genis, right? I greeted him shyly when I saw him coming straight at me.

"Hey, morning, how are you feeling?" he asked, yawning.

Surprised at his friendly behavior, I answered him a little more confidently.

"Better, thanks to you guys." I smiled.

"It's nothing. Besides, we couldn't just leave you out here in that state."

I nodded in appreciation as I sipped my drink quietly.

"So, Kaylin." Began Raine, looking straight at me. "If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions so we can clear things up a bit."

Okay, here came the tricky questions... I gulped and nodded.

"Sure, go ahead." My voice came out a bit crackled but that was a start. "If you don't mind me asking a few things as well afterward." I added quickly, smiling.

"...Farewell. First, we'd like to know where you come from, so we can escort you back home. It's dangerous for a young girl like you to travel alone like this. Besides, you're weaponless and short on money as well: you could run into trouble easily."

My blood boiled at her words. She thought I was defenseless? Okay, sure I didn't have my weapon and had no money at all, but that didn't mean I couldn't find a job or something! Did she know for how many years I prepared myself for this journey? Hum, well, she didn't and I DID look a bit harmless lying on the floor, but she still-

Raine then cleared her throat and I realized she had asked me a question.

Oh crap! What could I tell them? I couldn't just give Exire away. And the wingy part was a touchy subject too. I put a hurt and scared look on my face as I answer her.

"I-I lived alone in the outskirts of Meltokio, near the Fooji mounts. A group of thieves burnt the house down when they found nothing of value... I b-barely escaped and walked for days before collapsing on the road. I was trying to reach the city to find my father..." I looked away, as if too pitiful to face them. I was so screwed. There was NO way they were going to believe m-

"Wow, must have been hard on you, that explains the injuries! I'm so sorry about everything that has happened to you.." Exclaimed Lloyd, concerned. He looked so sorry for me I felt guilty.

In fact, I didn't expect him to believe me at all. That guy... How clueless and trusting was he?

"Yeah, I know what it feels like to see your house burning... So I can kinda relate." Said Genis with a sad look on his face. Crap crap crap, now I was making a traumatized twelve year old remember horrible things... Just who were those people?

If Raine and Sheena suspected something, they chose to ignore it.

"You said you were trying to find your father, right? Do you know where he is at the moment?" asked Lloyd, his eyes lightening up.

I shook my head. "Hum, well, I don't really know where he is because I've never met him, but I thought the capital would be a good start." This one was true, at last. I had decided that I would look for dad, no matter what, and go back to Exire when I had found him. Besides, as Raine pointed out, I had no money; that meant I had to either starve or stay with them.

"What do you mean you never met him?" pointed out Sheena, puzzled.

I stared at my feet, refusing to look at them while lying. "I wasn't raised by my parents. My mom died when I was 8 and I've lived all this time on my own. But my father is still alive somewhere." I smiled through the lies. Meh, half of it was true.

"I see, then you don't know where to go..." Said the silver-haired woman doubtfully, staring at me.

"Well, I definitely intend to find him for good!" I grinned, wanting to brighten up the mood.

"Did he abandon you?" She suddenly blurted out, breaking from her daydreaming. Startled by the blunt words, I stay motionless for a few seconds, not knowing how to handle it.

So much for brightening up the mood...

"Sis!" I heard Genis saying in stupefaction.

"Professor!" Shouted Lloyd, shocked as well.

"I..." I managed to say, frowning.

Raine seemed to go out from her trance and started apologizing.

"Sorry, that was a pretty insensitive question to ask. Please forget it." She settled down for a dreamy gaze, still in deep thoughts.

I swept off her apology with my hand.

"No, no that's alright... I... Dad doesn't even know I exist, so he didn't abandon me." I said firmly, smiling. Well, he didn't, right?

"Of course he didn't" Raine smiled sweetly. "We'll help you to find him then."

"Excuse me?!" I shout in bewilderment.

Was she offering me to...

"Well, we'll travel a lot in order to cure our friend. Besides..." She glanced at the emotionless teen in the corner. "... I'm sure Colette would like to help you, too."

Yep, she just asked me to join them. Well, more like forced me.

"A-are you positive about that? I mean, of course I'd love to, but..." I protest, still expecting her to take it back any moment.

"Yeah, professor Sage, are you really okay with that? It's unlike you to do that sort of things." Asked Lloyd, as dumbfounded as me.

I mean, who in their right mind would help a complete stranger, feed her, pay for her, and travel with her? I could as well rob them in their sleep!

Instead, she smiled reassuringly.

"Yes, I'm perfectly sure. I guess you must have rubbed off on me, Lloyd."

That's enough, I can't take that much kindness. I lied to them, I had to tell them 'that' at least. For what they did for me, and what they were going to do.

"You don't understand!" I finally blurt out, heart hammering.

Raine raised an eyebrow at me.

"And what do we not understand?"

I lowered my head in shame, tears threatening to escape. I had to say it.

Deep breath.

"You can't travel with me because... Because I'm... I'm a half-elf!"

* * *

Zelos The Great then blurted into the room and started to do the macarena. As coconuts flew into the air, I gaped at his amazing six-pack and began to drool. Lloyd fainted and Genis threw himself out the window as his sister couldn't help but dance with the redhead. Pancakes then magically appeared and it made my life complete. THE END.

* * *

**Okay, maybe it didn't exactly happened like that XD I wrote this last part when I was bored, so I figured I'd just leave it like this.**

**Anyway, this chappie was super long compared to the others! :D ...I hope you weren't too bored XD**

**Next chapter: the great Zelos and his darling hunnies! :D**


	4. Chapter 3: Meltokio

A wood carving star : Chapter 3

**Sorry for the unusual two-day delay, I hope I don't get used to it XD I'll try to update every wednesday, if possible. I hope you guys like this chapter, it's approximatively as long as the second one. More surprises for Kaylin, I think she's getting predictable. Anyways, thanks for reading up until now!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia or Zelos' marvelous hair. Namco does, but I'm planning to steal it. :D**

* * *

"You can't travel with me because... Because I'm... I'm a half-elf!"

There, I said it. I felt hot tears streaming down my cheeks as I clenched my hands into tight fits. I wasn't needed, I understood that much. In Exire, being a half-elf was the norm, we even had a few outcasts from Heimdall too. Here, I was at the bottom of the social scale, on the same level as dogs. Maybe even lower.

Everyone hated humans back there, there were horrible stories about half-elves being thrown to monsters, enslaved, killed, despised, having to live in the mud. Of course, most of it was false, and was meant to scare us.

But some of it was still true, the hatred, the discrimination, the corrupted laws.

That was so absurd! So unfair! And now, kind people who helped me were probably looking at me with the same disgusted looks. They were regretting doing all they had done, they... they were probably wishing I'd died on that road..

"So, what?" I finally heard. Lloyd?

I raised my head slowly, was he making fun of me? But what I saw when I looked up was a purely genuine look. No disgust, no hatred.

"Did you not hear me? I'm a half-elf!" I growled through my pathetic tears.

"And what if you're a half-elf? Human, elf, half-elf, what's the difference? You still have two legs and two arms, don't you?"

Was I... mistaken?

"I- What?" I asked, a look of disbelief crossing my face.

"Did you not hear me?" He mocked me, "It doesn't matter! Genis and the Professor are elves and I don't treat them differently either!"

He couldn't be possibly serious, humans hated half-elves, right? And there's a huge difference between pure-blooded elves and half-ones! However, a slight disappointment stroked me as I heard his words. I was hoping the two of them were like me... I did sense something, and there were the pointy ears too. But I've been near half-elves all my life so of course I wouldn't recognize an elf... I turned around to the rest of the group, eying their reactions.

Genis looked.. really pale, and Raine was shaken as well. On the contrary, Sheena's eyes were soft.

"That's alright, I don't have a problem with half-elves either. I mean, I can partly understand because I come from Mizuho so... I'm kind of an outcast here as well." Said the young woman, smiling.

I refrained a smile as well. So this village DID exist! And she didn't mind half-elves! I was right! There WERE good humans, and I just found some! Mom, you were right too... But there was still Genis and Raine who had said nothing the whole time. I waited for their answer nervously, it was true that elves disliked us as well for wasting our blood with humans. But... hey? Weren't they traveling with humans themselves? After a few moments, Raine decided to speak, carefully picking her words.

"Genis and I have no problem with it either, it's okay Kaylin..." She seemed to be on the verge of adding something else, but Genis cut her off.

"Yeah, that's true! Don't worry about it, okay?" He waved his hands a lot while saying this, stealing glances at Raine and Lloyd at the same time. Was he.. lying to me? My face darkened.

"Hum, what about Colette?" I asked, somehow expecting them to take it back any moment.

This time, it was Sheena who answered my question.

"Colette is the most understanding person of us all, I'm sure she feels the same way." After hearing her words, I finally relaxed, shoulders slumping down in relief. I then realized I had been clutching my fits the whole time, nails digging into my skin.

"Th-thanks guys, sorry about making a scene." I managed to smiled at them. "Would you mind not telling anyone though? I- I wouldn't want people to..."

"We understand, we won't tell" Raine cut me off, then softened. "It must have took you a lot to say that, thank you for trusting us." She said, smiling.

"Sorry about that." I apologized once again, smiling more honestly.

I heard a nervous laug on my left, making me jump, and discovered Lloyd scratching the back of his head.

"Now, now, you begin to sound like Colette, apologizing like that!"

I titled my head, not knowing how to take it, and soon, they began laughing with him. I cracked up another smile, cheeks heating up. That was nice, hearing the sound of laughter.

After everyone left, Raine lead me to the corridor for a moment, her expression serious.

"Kaylin, as you'll be traveling with us for a few weeks, there's one thing you might need to know... About Colette."

I nodded, listening. That illness story did sound weird.

But what she said next wasn't anywhere near what I expected.

"I know it's difficult to believe, and I can't explain everything in detail right now, but..." She hesitated for a second and closed her eyes. "...Colette has wings."

Stunned, I felt my eyes widening.

"...Did I hear what I heard?" I asked, brain proceeding everything. She nodded, eyes glued to mine. I believed her. After all, I was the proof alive. But I was an exception, right?

"W-what do you mean, wings? You mean, like an angel?" I couldn't help thinking about the Cruxis angel. Oh.. What if she WAS one? Hey, she DID look like one, and now they started telling me she had wings? H-how was I meant to take this? What were the odds that two winged girls met?

That was too much of a coincidence, she had to be sent here for me. She was a Cruxis angel! I backed off, feeling trapped, and looked at the door like she was going to come and shoot me any minute.

"Now, now, calm down, she may look like one but she's not an angel. Though she might be the only person having wings on this planet." Said the silver-haired woman, seeing my distress.

I couldn't help but snicker at her last words. Wanna bet?

"But..." I tried, wanting more information.

"I'll tell you everything when we have time. We must head immediately to the castle now we're guaranteed that you're awake and well."

"Why would you tell me that now, then?" I protested, not liking to be left in the dark.

The elf sighed, opening the door. "I had to tell you now because Colette doesn't control that ability of hers and could be lashing her wings out any moment for all we know. I didn't want you to be startled."

"Well.. Thanks for telling me, then." I said, coming back to the room. Mixed emotions dwelled in me as I walked. I was afraid, for sure, but somehow excited. Were there... More people like me?

* * *

A few moments later, I found myself chatting reasonably well with Genis and Lloyd in the inn's main hall. I was surprised to see I could talk normally, joke around, and get along with them. This was due to the boys, of course, after my speech, they had tried to cheer me up, and I was glad. I still couldn't really believe everything that was happening to me, but that was alright.

Because at this very moment, I could tell that Lloyd sucked at telling jokes.

"So, there's this giant grasshopper... No! A ladybug! And then, it comes to the other ladybug, which name's... Err, I forgot. And.. Why are you looking at me like that?"

I grinned, sharing a look with Genis. "No, nothing, please go on."

"Err, okay, so this grasshopper..." Lloyd continued, getting in his story once again.

"Ladybug." Corrected Genis, smirking.

"Right. So in fact, it was an aphid. And did you know what it said to the ladybug?"

"Nope but you're gonna tell me." Genis grinned, teasing the teen.

Lloyd pouted but continued, "Don't eat me! That's hilarious, huh?"

Genis and I gave him a deadpan stare, wondering about his brain's capacities.

"Hey, guys? Don't give me that look, that was pretty funny right? Well maybe it DID sound better when Colette said it back in Asgard but..."

Still staring, nope, not moving.

"G-guys?" He said, taken aback.

I couldn't take it anymore, I burst out laughing, resulting in making Genis crack as well.

"Goddess! That face!" We exclaimed at the same time, knuckling.

Oh dear, I was crying now.

"Seriously guys, you're not fun." Lloyd said, pouting.

… Which made us clutch our stomachs once again, gasping for air.

Upset, the teen left the room as we wiped our tears and grinned at each other.

Wait a minute, did Lloyd say Asgard earlier?

"Where did Colette told him that tremendous joke, again?" I furrowed my brow, wondering when was the last time I heard that word.

Genis didn't seem to remember so I shrugged it off. Must have misheard that one.

Suddenly, Sheena entered the room with Raine.

"Oh, you're here guys, where's Lloyd?" Asked the ninja.

Genis smirked as he gestured at the door: he was so teasing him later.

"Well, could you bring him here, please?" Sheena put her hands on her hips, slightly annoyed. "I'm leaving and I'm kinda in a rush at the moment."

the young elf nodded and left the room as well.

"Wait, you're leaving?" I inquired, not wanting to lose my roommate just yet.

"Ah, yea, I have to give a report to my chief. We might meet again, don't worry." She smiled at me cryptically. "Oh, Raine, here is a letter to the King, everything is explained in there, including Colette's condition. Just say it's from Sheena of Mizuho and you'll have an audience right away." She then gave the woman a long glance. "Trust me on that, okay?"

"... Understood." finally answered Raine, taking the letter.

Were they hiding something? The King? A letter? Argh, that was way too confusing. But I guess it would've been too much of me to ask, I didn't know them after all...

I stared at my boots, trying not to be too disappointed.

"Sheena! You're leaving?!" Oh, here was Lloyd.

"Yea, I wanted to say goodbye before I left." She smiled at him.

"You said we would meet again, right?" I intervened, only realizing afterward that I was killing their moment.

She simply nodded, and Raine shook her head. "Let's not say our goodbyes just yet then."

Sheena then took a few steps back and said, "Okay guys! See you again... Someday!"

We didn't even had time to say 'ninja' and she was gone. Gone. Vanished. In a poof of smoke! I gaped in awe, staring at the empty space where Sheena once stood. Ninjas were THAT awesome, huh? Now that I thought about it, we played ninjas as kids in Exire, and they were rumors about a secret village too, but I never took them seriously. Proves me wrong! First wings, then ninjas, what was next? Unicorns?

Coming out of my daze, I shook my head, trying to get rid of the amazement.

"Well, what's next?" Said Lloyd, apparently unimpressed by Sheena's performance.

"I suggest we head to the castle." answered Raine, turning to me. "Kaylin, you said you lived in the outskirts of the city, right?"

"Umm, yeah?" I sweat-dropped. Question time.

"Would you happen to know your way around?" The silver-haired woman asked, her hand on her hip.

"Well, I've never really been there to be honest, but I've heard plenty about it so I should know where the main buildings are, at least." I said truthfully, struggling to remember my geography lessons.

"I see..." she said, thoughtful. "You wouldn't happen to know where the residence of the King is, then?"

"You mean, the castle?" I inquired, frowning. "Mmh, let me see, if my memories are good, it should be at the very top of the city..?"

"Why would it?" ...I could swear I saw a flame burning in her eyes at that very moment. I tried my best to explain what I knew.

"Yeah, y'see it was built in the beginning of the Kharlan war, so it was thought as a fortress for the nobles at first. And Meltokio was built afterwards, and it spread around the castle." I finished awkwardly, not satisfied about my reply.

"What was the capital then?" Raine continued, craving for knowledge.

"Mmh, I guess it was Sybak at the time, but it was destroyed and rebuilt so I'm not sure..." I answered, thoughtful

"Marvelous!" She wrote notes down, with whatever she had pulled out of her enormous backpack.

"Excuse me, but, aren't you a professor? You should know more than me about that, shouldn't you?" I inquired, suddenly remembering I was talking to a mature adult, who had supposedly gone to SCHOOL. That and she looked like she had a passion for history.

"Umm, how about we all go outside? We should cure Colette as soon as possible." Genis intervened, giving me an odd look as Raine slightly paled.

"Oh, yeah, you're right, sorry." I blushed, forgetting about the silver-haired woman.

"Come on, then!" Exclaimed Lloyd cheerfully, pushing my back. I let him push me to the front door and suddenly stopped. This was my first experience into a town, right?

I did recall lessons at school, talking about how short-distance rheiards came to Exire to bring us food, medications, clothes sometimes, even though we made them ourselves; I remembered talking about the economy and the importance of the church, jokes on the pope's infamous hat, how our pars lived in the slums at the bottom and the nobles lived at the very top, tales about the royal family... But those were lessons. This was something else. Only half the adults back home could say they'd set a foot on the Ground, and only a few of them had visited Meltokio. I held my breath as I stepped in the morning golden light, boots hitting the cobble paved street. My eyes widened as I discovered the sight in front of me. Strangely enough, the first word that came to my mind was gigantic, quickly replaced by colorful. Gigantic and colorful, that was what described the best the busy street. In front of me, stood the biggest shop I had ever seen. Hundreds of people were going their merry way, here and there, buying whatever they needed, a colorful and unorganized display of faces, clothes, bags, feathers and fur, golden shoes and puffy pants, large dresses and gravity-defying hats.

I watched in awe as I felt a wave of delight rushing through my body. So this was the Imperial City of Meltokio, this was the Ground, this was the real world. I grinned, feeling happy, and realized I had not been standing there alone. I gasped and tried not to look suspicious, but quickly realized that it was just fine. Everybody was as stunned as me and stood there, gaping like fishes out of the water. Well except for Colette, of course. She must have been a really nice a girl according to the others. They had been traveling around just for her, so I guess she really is that wonderful. I'm sorry Colette, but I'm still a bit scared, seeing you like this. You probably don't deserve it but I don't feel comfortable at all when you're around. I hope you'll forgive me someday. I sighed, bringing my attention back to the street. Doing so made me peaceful, oddly.

After walking up a few streets, without getting lost, we finally found the main street, ending in the town's gates on one side, and an impossibly long paved alley on the other. We headed towards the crowded street as I realized I had never seen that many people in my whole life. I found myself loving the dazzling Meltokio, I who was born in a peaceful village cut off from the world, with only three hundred people living there and where the grey of the stone, the green of the trees and the blue of the sky were the only colours. Meltokio was just.. So full of life! So bright! So much to learn and explore! My eyes were taking everything in, craving for information.

Oops, pacing out again.

Now and then I could hear gleeful comments of the professor, commenting about the town's architecture, and the cultural patrimony it represented. Lloyd was babbling too, but more like about how it was big and big and... big.

We eventually came to the end of the main street, and stopped in front of the most enormous stairs I'd ever seen, and goddess do I know staircases!

I gaped for what seemed like the millionth time this morning as I took a closer look at the stone steps. That meant we had to climb those to get to the castle... I was so in for this. Fortunately, I found out that the steps were really low and effortless to climb, which explained why the stairs were going on forever. Thinking about it, I couldn't picture those ladies with their high heels and big dresses climbing THAT high without tripping. About halfway up, we encountered a cute little golden dog. Awww, I just loved dogs, there were always a few of them back home and I couldn't resist them. Just look at those tiny paws, I could just eat them all up... As I continued ranting about how cute dogs were, the little one approached Colette, asking for cuddles.. Until she kicked the poor dog.

I almost choked at the violent act.

"Colette!?" I heard coming from behind. I jumped at the sudden shout and realized that I had stopped breathing. I turned to Lloyd, a mixture of shock and pain crossing his features.

"And she used to love dogs..." he almost whispered, voice shaking, as the animal ran off, its tail between his legs.

That was when I realized how hard it must have been for all of them. Losing a friend while watching him turning into a complete stranger and all you can do is watch... That must have been hell. Still was. I couldn't fully imagine what they were going through. It just seemed... So wrong, so twisted. They probably didn't trust me enough to tell me how she ended up like this but I respected that. I... I think I'll try to think about Colette as the gentle person she once was. That wouldn't be fair to her, or to the others. I closed my eyes and chased away the violent act I just witnessed. _This is not Colette_. The sound of laughter made me force my eyes open and I realized a weird man with purple hair was chuckling maniacally, not even trying to suppress it.

"That's a violent lady there!" He remarked, still chuckling to himself.

"That's marvelous." From the corner of my eye, I saw Lloyd clutching his fists.

The strange guy then left, leaving us astounded by his words and behavior.

"... Who in the world was that man?" Raine broke the silence, bewildered.

Having no clue, the rest of us didn't say anything, watching the freak walking down the stairs hurriedly.

"There are such people down there too, huh?" I quietly said to myself, thinking about a crazy elven woman thinking her daughter was a doll. What was her name again..?

"Kaylin, what was it?" Raine turned towards me, taken aback.

"Oh, no it was nothing!" I answered maybe a little too fast, smiling.

She gave me a you're-in-for-it-later look before turning to the end of the stairs.

I sweat-dropped. Did I just got... Busted?

No, this can't be, I'm just being paranoiac, there was nothing relevant I had said. She was probably suspicious of me but lacked of proof to say something. Man, I'd have to watch my mouth and be extra careful in her presence. Sighing, I caught up to them and looked around, expecting the castle to be there.

Mmh, well, nope. We were obviously in a fancier area but definitely no castles in sight. Either I was completely wrong and the castle is in the opposite direction, or there's more stairs for us. Geez. I walked straight ahead and looked around some more. We were entering a wide... Park? There were bushes and trees, neatly lined up, with flowers and benches surrounding those. Still walking, I found myself closing my eyes to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere... Until I bumped into something with a caramel scent. I opened my eyes expecting to see a walking giant caramel but only saw a very crossed girl, red with anger. Uh oh.

"Hey, watch it!" She screamed in my face, so close that I could see the powder on her skin. "Watch where you're going!" another one snapped.

"Huh, sorry about that, I didn't see you coming." I answered the fluff-wearing girl. I mean, look at that skirt! There should be a law about the number of ribbons and frills you can wear before it becomes that ridiculous! Well.. Even more ridiculous than it looked to begin with.

"What idiot would walk with their eyes closed! I don't want your stupid apologies!" She barked in my face and eyed me from head to toes. "Who wear capes in this season anyways?!"

I rose an eyebrow at her pitiful attempt of an insult.

"Now, now, settle down my darling hunnies!" A voice made me turn. Standing in the middle of all of those sissy girls, was a guy, probably around... 20? He had incredibly long and stunning red hair and a stupid flashing smile was plastered on his face. Well, even if he sounded annoying, there was no denying that the guy was gorgeous. I then noticed that the others were now standing beside me, watching the scene. I also noticed that Colette had her wings out. Oh my, Raine really wasn't lying. I was taken aback at the sight of the bright pink wings, and couldn't help but compare them to my green ones but shook my head to regain my composure, facing the redhead.

"Well my little cool beauty, you aren't hurt are you?" The guy said with a smile. After a few seconds, I realized that he was talking about me. Did he just WINK at me? I slightly blushed but lowered my head a little so he wouldn't notice. From the corner of my eye, I saw Genis making a face.

"That's none of your concern." I said flatly, waiting for his reaction. But his 'hunnies' didn't give me the time to do so as they protested, glaring at me.

"Well! Master Zelos himself has deigned to speak to that girl, and yet look how she acts!" A girl exclaimed, practically strangling herself from indignation.

I couldn't even respond when another one started to point at Colette.

"Just look at this one! It's not even festival time and she's dressed up as in angel costume! How stupid are you?"

Colette of course didn't say anything, staring blankly into nothing. The girl smirked, taking her silence as acknowledgment and I suddenly sensed the urge of defending the poor blonde.

"You're the one wearing a ridiculous costume, and I'm not even asking about who is the stupid one." I glared back, stepping in front of Colette.

Lloyd gave me a surprised look but came to our rescue. "Let it go, Kaylin." he played along. "She's obviously never looked in a mirror." Lloyd, I think I love you.

"What did you say!?" hissed the girl, in an obvious loss of comebacks.

"You're all fighting like children.." Sighed Raine, beyond everything.

"Now, now. Settle down." Purred 'master Zelos', He then placed his attention on Colette. "Are you upset my little angel?" I shuddered, like every single time I heard the word 'angel'. It was an insult back home, and I would hear it often from the villagers. That word was always full of hatred in their mouths, I couldn't bear it.

"You know what?" Continued the womanizer.

"I bet you're as cute as a button when you smile!" He then shot her his signature stupid smile, but of course Colette, being her, didn't even flinch.

This was getting seriously hilarious, the guy didn't know what was happening to him. As nonchalantly as ever, he tried to grab Colette's arm as she grabbed him in return... And sent him flying across the park. Literally. I was definitely enjoying this too much.

"Aaaaah, Master Zelos!" I heard his groupies screaming in terror at this sight.

Must... Hold... Laughter...

"Whoa!" Zelos screamed, landing on his feet, the bewildered look crossing his features making me crack.

That was too much for me to take, I failed to suppress my laughter and pressed my palms to my mouth, eyes watering.

"Wow, that was a surprise." Exclaimed the redhead, staring at Colette. Hehe, I bet it was. "You sure are strong my little angel, you certainly startled me." Finished the guy, his grin returning to his face.

Lloyd then decided to speak up, curious, "Who are you?..." He asked, unsure.

"No offense, but I'm not interested in talking to guys." He shot back nonchalantly, without even looking at him.

… Ouch.

"... I hate this guy already." Commented Genis, not bothering to keep his voice down.

Zelos totally ignored him, noticing Raine in the back of the group. He was in for more! Clueless, he made his ways towards her, slightly pushing Lloyd aside as he did so, and tried to flirt with the professor.

"Oooh, and what's your name, beautiful?" He grinned.

"Give me your name and I shall give you mine." Answered Raine with a straight face.

"Hey, you copied Lloyd!" Genis pointed out childishly, as the latter gave Raine a look.

I didn't quite understand that one but, well, who cares.

"... Now that I've heard someone else say it, it sounds kind of arrogant." Added Lloyd, frowning slightly. Oh, I think I got it, that must have been Lloyd's quote or something.

Zelos, still ignoring the two guys, then answered Raine, a genuine look of surprise on his face. "Oh my, you don't know me? I guess I still have ways to go."

"Master Zelos! Let's go!" Hissed the groupies, visibly annoyed that Zelos' attention was directed towards us. "Oh yes, yes, of course." He turned to them, grinning, and kissed the girl's hand.

"Well then, I'll see you again. My lovely lady, my cute little angel and my adorable wild pup. Oh, and you... Other people." He then winked at me and headed towards the opposite direction, quickly followed by his squirming fangirls. I blinked.

Adorable... Wild... Pup?

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**Sooo Zelos will call her that for the rest of the journey! How convenient, 'cause she loves dogs!... :D Okay, I couldn't think of anything else but that will come more naturally later... I think XD Please tell me if I mispelled something so I can rewrite it.**

**Anyways, thank you very much for reading this,**

**Please Review! :D**


	5. Chapter 4: Infiltrating

A wood carving star : Chapter 4

**Alright, here is the fourth chapter, that I finished early to have a free weekend... of work T_T School sucks, I know. Anyways, we continue on the normal plot for that one, I hope you'll like it. XD**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ToS, if I did, you don't wanna know what'd happen**

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I shook my head as I tried to process what had just happened there.

«... What was that all about ? » Exclaimed Lloyd, voicing our thoughts.

« What an ass. » Added Genis, which made me chuckle. He seemed to be holding a grudge against the redhead already.

"He was grinning the entire time like an idiot. What's wrong with that guy?" The little elf grumbled, crossing his arms.

"I wonder." I said quietly, grinning myself. What an oddball, being around him lifted up my spirits a bit, somehow. Humans sure were full of surprises.

"He had an exsphere on him." remarked Raine, thoughtful.

"What? No way!" Exclaimed Genis, a little too loudly, which made some people grumble. The guy had an exsphere, huh? That explained how he was able to react this quickly to Colette's self-defense. I have one myself, mom's. I hide it under my clothes so others wouldn't notice, unlike the others; why did they wear it on their hand?And why was it blue? Mine was purple. Well I guess there are different types of exspheres or something? I don't know, I'm no expert after all.

Now that I think about it, I was the only one who had an exsphere in my village, except from the ancient. I guess I was never part of the village right from my birth, not only those hellish six months.

I sighed and realized the group was leaving. Catching up to them, I looked around and noticed we had to climb another stair that lead to the castle. Well at least, I had not lost my title of Guide in chief.

After much climbing, we finally faced the castle's huge doors, as high as average Exire's houses. Seriously? Did those guys know anything about, I don't know, simple is beautiful? Or, the tiniest, the cutest? Apparently not.

Raine was in awe, excited by the sight of the massive doors, and was ranting about how it was an historical treasure and practically begged me for information.

Genis was covering his face in shame and Lloyd was only jaw dropping.

It was needless to say they'd never been there, and had never came near something like this. Strange, I could swear there were nearly similar doors on Sybak's cathedral or something.

After much ranting, we finally made our way to the very front of those doors. There, two soldiers were guarding them.

"Who are you people?" Asked the heavily armored guy.

Lloyd didn't seem to be impressed because he answered him without flinching. And goddess knows how impressive those guys were. And goddess knows how I flinched, damn them.

"We want to meet the King." He said bluntly, making Raine raise an eyebrow at him. Ok, so he was not that relaxed... Or maybe he was just a dork.

"His majesty is ill and is not granting audiences." answered the other guard. "Now that you know please leave."

"No! We have to see him!" Shouted the teen, despair written all over his face.

"I'm sure you do" paused the first guard, seeing his distress. "But until His Majesty is well, there is nothing that can be done."

Lloyd's face fell as the guard continued. "The church of Martel is preparing a prayer ritual to pray for his Majesty's recovery so try asking the priests in the church to ensure that he gets well as soon as possible." He said, and I could feel sympathy in his muffled voice, even under his helmet. Hey, the church of Martel? I smiled sadly at mom's name. So that was how popular she was, down here. The church seemed to have an important role in the society, too. I learned that at school but that sounded so wrong I wouldn't believe it. And here I was, seeing thousands of people worshiping my own mother. Geez, how weird could that get?

"Your shift's up." two guards came from the side, making me jump.

"All right." Answered the guard we've been talking to, quietly gesturing us to go.

"I guess we'll have to go to the church then.." Said Lloyd, trying to hide his disappointment.

I froze, unsure. Crap, I wasn't prepared for this! What if mom appeared in front of everyone in that church? That's what happened in Exire's small chapel: without checking if anyone was with me, mom would appear before me as soon as I stepped in. That caused me a lot of trouble and I didn't want that to happen again.

I couldn't let the others know about her! A-and what about the people in the church, too? Arrgh, why was this happening?

"Uumm, would you mind if I were not to come?" I asked carefully, not wanting to raise any suspicions. "I'll wait outside!" I quickly added.

Lloyd turned his head to me, surprised.

"Why's that? You-" He then frowned slightly.

"Yes, Kaylin, why would you want to stay out of the church?" Asked Raine, her gaze piercing me.

"I'm an atheist!" I blurted out without even thinking. I almost facepalmed at that.

She cocked an eyebrow but said nothing, I had a feeling she had grown soft on me since I told them about me.

"But... What about your father?" Said Genis, clenching his fists. "You said you came here to look for him, right?"

I smiled reassuringly at him "Well my father can wait for a few hours, can't he?"

"Alright, wait for us here, Kaylin." Lloyd nodded, back to his normal self. "We won't take long, I promise! Then we can look for your father together! How about that?" He smiled warmly at me.

"Lloyd..." I said out loud, bewildered. How could that guy be that kind to strangers? Did he even realize that? "That sounds great." I smiled back as he lifted a thumb up.

The group then took off into the cathedral.

I sighed, relieved that they had left me off the hook so easily. Well, I guess I had to deal with Raine's glances from time to time, but other than that, it went out pretty well.

I decided to sit by a fountain when I saw a familiar figure entering the castle and my eye caught crimson locks disappearing inside as the guards let the doors opened for him. Just who the heck was that guy?

I sulked for no reason whatsoever, still embarrassed by his shameless flirt. Was it even normal for Tethea'llan people? I didn't know what was wrong or not anymore, I had lost all my senses in there. Sighing, I nibbled my pendant and watched the clouds passing by, thinking about home. In fact, the pendant was my mom's engagement ring tied to a little silver chain, I was too scared of losing it if I had it on my finger. It was always warm that way, the only thing I had from her. Also the only proof I had that I was indeed my parents' daughter. It was a little thing, yes, but of great sentimental value. I inspected it for the millionth time, elven characters glistening under the midday sun.

I put it back in place and listened to the fountain's calm stream, closing my eyes and soaking up the sun for a few minutes.

A rather loud voice cut me out of my peaceful state and I gazed in its direction, still numb.

"Presea, here you are! You're late, the ceremony will take place in a few minutes, you won't get paid if you're not there in time." A guy on his forties was giving a lecture to a cute little girl with pink pigtails. He continued as he leaned closer, trying to intimidate the girl.

"But I guess you can still pull that off, can you?" I frowned, almost getting up to stop him.

The girl then nodded, and I noticed what she was carrying.

A freaking pile of trunks! On her own! The guy had to be crazy for expecting her to move that thing!Heck, she wasn't even older than Genis!

"Very well then, I'll let you get to work." The guy smirked, satisfied.

"The sacred wood goes to Altamira. You can do it after your current job is done."

"Understood." Answered the girl in a toneless voice, probably too scared to cope with her emotions.

"The plan is right on schedule, I must report to Lord Rodyle." Then said the guy to himself, walking right past me hurriedly, almost shoving me aside.

I glared at him and turned my attention back to the church, where I discovered that Lloyd and the others were standing there the whole time and had witnessed the scene.

I then noticed that the little girl had moved on to the castle. What I thought would have been a lot heavier seemed to be weightless as the girl- Presea, was it?- dragged it effortlessly behind her. Well, that could be a special type of light wood or something? He did mention the 'sacred wood', maybe that was its characteristic?

Something in my head as I watched pigtail get closer to the castle. Wouldn't that be a perfect opp-

I didn't even have time to stop her that a certain silver-haired boy did just that with eagerness.

"Hey! Hang on a sec! Um, Presea!" He turned red, trying his best not to stutter. Aw, he was so adorable, that kid had a crush on pigtail! Apparently, said Presea didn't hear that because she didn't stop in her tracks, still dragging the huge sleigh.

Alright, second try was Raine, intervening calmly, lightly touching her on the shoulder.

"Could we have a moment of your time?"

As the girl stopped for a moment, hesitating, Lloyd tried the friendly approach.

"I'm Lloyd." He said, moving slowly towards her. He then gestured to us.

"This is Colette, Raine, Kaylin and-'

"I-I'm Genis!" The little elf said a little too loudly, as red as Lloyd's jacket. This should be fun to watch.

"Hey Genis, why are you all flushed?" Said Lloyd genuinely, totally oblivious to his best friend's obvious crush on Pigtails.

"Would you let us help you carry the sacred wood?" Said Genis, not bothering to answer, staring at Presea, cheeks still flushed.

She ignored him and went back to her said wood. Ouch.

"W-wait!" Genis cried, rejected by the love of his life.. Okay enough of these jokes, understood.

"I'm sorry, I know this is a bit strange, but please hear us out." Added Raine calmly.

"The truth is, we have a letter we wish to give to the King." She continued and furrowed her brows, obviously not liking the fact of asking help from an innocent little girl.

"Our friend's life depends on it." Quickly added Lloyd again. "But we have a problem because the King is sick and refuses to see anyone!" Concern and worry was visible on every inch of his face, there was no way she was going to refuse.

On the contrary, absolutely no emotions were showing on her face as Lloyd finished his sentence. That kind of reminded me of... Colette. That girl too, who was she? Are every single girl on the Ground emotionless? Dammit!

I snapped out of my thoughts as I heard Presea's bittersweet voice.

"Understood." She simply said, leaving her wood behind. Okay.. This one could talk, of course, I was just being paranoid.

"Um, Presea?" Asked Genis, glancing at the girl, then at the wood, then at Pigtails again.

"Please carry that." She said, in her toneless voice.

"Oh! Okay! Leave it to us!" Grinned Lloyd, switching moods. ...This ability of his was downright scary.

Genis and him went to grab the sledge... And it didn't budge one inch as they thrust against it.

"Oh my g—w-wait a minute! Arrgh this thing is heavy!" They were freaking hilarious, with their face red and the little girl staring at them. Raine then pressed a palm to her forehead and I exploded with laughter for the third time of the day. The angry boys glared at me and I nearly choked. Why was I the only one laughing anyways? Oh yea, because the only immature people of the group were in a compromising situation and the best thing was that I was immature too.

Hehehe.

"I lost all confidence as a man..." Whispered Lloyd, bewildered.

"Me too." Gasped Genis as he looked Presea going away with the heavy sledge. Where did that kid hide her muscles anyways?

I snickered at Genis' face, the poor boy would never get away with it. Raine gave me a look but let out a small smile, at last.

"Anyway, let's follow her." I said happily, ignoring the two boys.

As predicted, we managed to go through the main doors and enter the castle with Presea's help.

Practically glowering, Lloyd cheered up almost instantly. Scary. "Well, we managed to make it inside!" The boy seemed relieved to come one step closer to Colette's recovery. I was genuinely happy for him too but I couldn't shrug off the weird feeling I had about Colette. I realized I had been just staring at Lloyd the whole time because I definitely didn't follow the conversation as he talked again, pumping his fist in the air.

"Okay, now. Let's go look for the royal chambers!"Oh right, we were getting in trouble.

"What will you do, Presea?" Asked Genis, still flushed from either shame or shyness. "Yes, sending her back alone would be suspicious. Let's have her come with us." Announced Raine tactlessly.

...So blunt. Did they randomly take people with them everywhere they went? Or was it just me and Presea?

"Is that okay for you?" I inquired, concerned by the little girl's feelings... If she had any, that is.

She just nodded cutely, her pigtails bouncing on her shoulders as she did so. I smiled, glancing at Genis. No wonder the kid was head over heels for her. Sighing, I ran a hand through my messy bangs. The poor girl never asked for any of this. Everyone knew it was wrong but still allowed it to save their friend. Presea could seriously get in trouble! She could lose her job, or go to jail because of us! Infiltrating a castle, and going to the royal chambers without having an audience.. That was a serious crime, even I knew that much. Stealing a last glance at the little girl, I shook my head and focused on my surroundings.

We were obviously inside the castle, which had to be the biggest thing I had ever seen. Including Meltokio's cathedral, yes. Also, did Meltokioan people had a gold fetish or something? I mean, sure gold is great and shows off how rich you are, but what's the point in putting some on the ceiling?

Our eyes were wide opened, either from the fear of being discovered and thrown to jail, or from the pompous and gigantic decorations of our surroundings.

Raine easily deducted that the royal chambers were on the top floor, and we finally got there, without running into much trouble. Well, still gaping at everything like a bunch of tourists, but without any trouble nonetheless.

In front of the fanciest doors on the top floor, stood a soldier. I shot a knowing look at the others and we made our way towards him.

"Hey, you, who gave you permission to come here?" The guy asked, surprised.

"We brought the sacred wood but then were asked to aid with preparations with the prayers." Lloyd answered immediately, making weird gestures as he spoke.

The guard eyed us and I could understand what he was thinking: How the hell could a bunch of kids and one woman aid with the preparations? Lloyd obviously didn't think it through before speaking. Then again, why did Lloyd speak in the first place? Raine should have done the speaking.

"It was an order from the Pope." I added, saving his back.

The guy seemed to reconsider. "The Pope? Just a moment, I'll ask." He then turned his back to us and opened the doors. Crap, the Pope just HAD to be in there right?

Seeing that my sneaky plan was going to completely backfire, Lloyd chose the delicate option.

"Sorry about this!" He shouted, raising his sword and hitting the guy with the pommel.

...That could work too, I guess. I cringed as the guard's body made a loud 'thud' when hitting the ground. I wasn't used to violence. Sure, I used to spar with my friends, but that.. was real.

"What's going on?!" We heard a voice coming from the inside of the room.

...Busted.

We then barged without ceremony into the royal chambers, startling the group that stood there.

I quickly spotted the King, with is wealthy furry coat and his pale face. He was indeed very sick, from the looks of it, and didn't wear his fancy crown I've seen in books. Too bad.

Next to him stood a gorgeous young woman wearing a frilly white dress. She looked ready to pass out as she saw us, hiding behind her bouncy golden locks.

I reckoned this was the princess, Milda?No, Hilda, was it? Moving on, I set my eyes on the nearest person, and that happened to be...

"Huh? it's you people."Said a certain redhead, startled.

Yep, the guy from earlier. So I wasn't imagining things when I saw him entering the castle!

"Chosen, do you know them?" Asked a fancy-looking guy with a ridiculous hat. That'd be the Pope. Wait, what did he just call that Zelos guy?

"Chosen?!" Repeated Genis, confirming my thoughts, nearly as bewildered as I was. My brain was a mess. Was that the guy I was linked to? The Chosen supposed to save both worlds? The very reason of my awakening? Thar redhead, the Chosen of mana, huh?

"Well I dunno if I'd say I know them." Answered the guy himself. "Just what are you people doing here?" He inquired, crossing his arms.

"So you're Tethea'lla's Chosen of Mana..." Stated Raine, deep in her thoughts.

Well duh, what did you think he was the Chosen o- Wait a minute, did that mean they-

"What?!" Exclaimed Lloyd and Genis at the same time, visibly really shocked; what was wrong with them? Sure he was the Chosen, but they had the freaking King, princess, and Pope in the same room! Why would that be such a big deal? I mean, sure this guy didn't exactly act like a saint but neither did the Pope.

"This guy is the Chosen?!" Said Lloyd for the third time. YES, we just stated that.

I eyed them, suspicious. They were being extremely weird for Tethea'llan civilians.

I mean, I could explain why I didn't know who was the Chosen because I lived in ostracism. That and I got over the fact that he was an idiot quickly too. But those guys were supposed to know about him and clearly overreacted too.

Unless they weren't from Tethea'lla.

"What do you mean, 'Tethea'lla's'"? Asked Zelos, pointing out what I had been thinking.

I tensed, looking at Raine, Genis and Lloyd, earnest to know about that too.

Genis peaked an eye at me, gauging my reaction. I could practically HEAR him sweat-dropping.

"Are you from Sylvarant?" The Pope glared at us.

"Yes, we are." Lloyd answered, looking straight at me this time, as if he wasn't talking at the Pope at all. I then gulped, the meaning of his words sinking in my brain. Those guys were from Sylvarant! And I had seen nothing coming... Well that explained their behavior at last. Of course they would act like this if they were from another world! The other half, as mom called it. The worlds were only one when she was alive, but she used those words to make me understand anyway. Sylvaranti...

My jaw dropped and I simply stared, making a fool of myself. This really explained... A lot of things. Like how they were so excited when visiting Meltokio, how Raine, a teacher, didn't even know about Meltokio, or how Sheena's letter explained 'everything', or their reaction to Zelos' status.

An irritable voice finally broke the silence as I still gaped like a fish out of the water. "These are people from the declining world?!" The princess screeched in horror, grasping her dress as if we were going to jump at her like wild monsters.

Luckily, her knight in shining armor was here and she swooned at his words: "Princess. Have no fear. Um, What's your name?" Asked the Chosen, pointing to Lloyd.

The latter answered him and Zelos turned awfully serious for a moment. "Lloyd, for what purpose have you come here?" He furrowed his brows, which was weird. I wasn't sure if that face was an act or not, but it seemed kinda out of character, for what I'd seen. Moving on.

Lloyd answered that he wanted to deliver Sheena's letter and Zelos spoke again. "Sheena? What's your relationship with Sheena?"

He seemed to know her too, that meant she was a Tethea'llan too. My thoughts wandered to the ninja. What was she doing anyways? Would we meet again at all? I kind of liked her, I think, I wouldn't mind being friends with kimono girl. I smiled at the short memory. Yep, definitely going to be friends.

"Sheena?!" The King then spoke for the very first time.

Was she that popular? I thought ninjas were supposed to be all secretive and sneaky!

"Your Majesty! Please forgive us for causing a disturbance in your presence!" The Pope whined, glaring at us once again.

"...Lloyd, give me the letter." Said the King at last, ignoring him.

Lloyd of course did just that, earning a bonus glare from the religious. After a few moments, the King finished reading and dismissed us: "People of Sylvarant, wait in the other room for a while." He finally said, livid.

The Pope then nodded and turned to the guy on his right. "Pastor, show them to the Crimson Chamber." He said, finally getting to say something useful.

"Yes, your Eminence." Acquiesced the pastor solemnly, gesturing us to follow him.

That was strange, I mean, apart from the fact that the guy had an enormous hat. All of those people, devoting their lives to Martel... My MOM. In Exire, the only religious person was Yadiel, and they would chat from time to time in the small chapel. And there, the Pope obviously held a very important and powerful place in the society and yet he hasn't even seen her? I might start to feel self-conscious if I thought about it further. But, technically speaking, if my mother was a goddess, that would make me... A half-goddess? Ha! I could get the guy to throw his hat away and worship me every day! Just kidding, I was no half-goddess, and mom was no goddess either. She was just an awesome person that happened to have a psycho brother with a sister-complex. I mean, she always talked about him fondly, but there was no denying that he was nuts, turning his sister into the pillar of a freaking religion! I wondered what my father thought about it...

I snapped back to reality as we stopped in front of a large wooden door. I haven't even realized we had left the room.. Scary. I must really stop spacing out like this, that might get problematic if I wanted to have a clue on what was happening.

"Please wait in here." Said the pastor, visibly eager to earn brownie points from the Pope.

Raine nodded and he left us there.

"Weird..." I muttered under my breath as I looked around the fancy room, eying furniture probably even more expensive than my whole village.

Everything was, well, crimson. The walls, the floor, the furniture was made of red wood too. Heck, even the ceiling was red! It looked like my expectation of Lloyd's house. Speaking of Lloyd, he could practically disappear in all this red. Weird.

"Is something on your mind?" I jumped at the sudden voice, turning to face Raine. The young woman looked puzzled and her mouth wasn't in the right angle.

Oh, wait! She probably meant the Sylvaranti thing! Oh yea, I had to pretend I didn't know about that too. But how could that slip that mind?! I blame the Pope and my wild imagination. Who wore hats that big anyways? Did everything had to be big there? Ah! I let it slip again!

"Um, where did you guys said you were from again?" I tried to ask casually, blushing slightly.

Lloyd and Genis turned to me, uneasy. "We're from Sylvarant." Answered Lloyd, scratching the back of his neck.

"It's another world!" Added Genis, shifting from one foot to another, avoiding my gaze. Apparently this had been bugging him since the very morning . I furrowed my brows the best I could, but probably only looked really silly. "Another world?" I simply repeated.

Raine sighed, looking very tired. "I know this probably sounds crazy to you, and to you too Presea." She smiled faintly at the pink-haired girl. "But a few weeks before, we didn't even know about Tethea'lla either."

Did they... Did they come all the way from Sylvarant to save their friend? Wait, that took it to a whole new level! They must love that girl very much, then.

"As you're going to be traveling with us, I see no reasons to hide the truth from you. With everyone's approval, I will tell you everything you need to know about our journey." The young woman stated, taking a seat.

"I'm okay with this!" Grinned Lloyd, visibly happy to spill the beans. Genis, however, avoided my gaze. "Since she trusted us in the first place, I don't see why not."

… What was wrong with him?

"Very well." Said Raine, placing her hands on her knees; "You may as well take a seat, this is going to take a while."

And a while it took.

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**Bloopers:**

**Pope: Chosen, do you know them?**

**Zelos: Well, I dunno if I'd say I know them... But I do know that babe, her name's Arobaze, and she's my wife because I and my sexy body and hair belong to her. I'm submitted to her and proud of it because I love her with all my sexy self. I would give up everything for her even though I'm bound to leave my place to Yuan someday, that's so sad.**

**Yuan: Hey! Don't get me involved!**

**Kaylin: Hey! Stop hitting on my father, this is gross!**

**Me: Mhmph**

**Kratos: That was my line.**

**Me: Kyaaa! A wild Kratos appeared! I wanna catch it!**

**Kratos:..**

**Lloyd: Hey! Stop hitting on MY father, now!**

**Kaylin: That was MY line.**

**Me: Oh, shuddup, let me enjoy my fictional harem for once, and Lloyd, you're not even supposed to know about Kratty yet.**

**Kaylin, Lloyd: Your what?**

**Yuan, Kratos:... You heard nothing.**

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**I came up with the blooper's idea when I was writing that scene in the castle XD couldn't resist posting it :D**

**Anyways, I hope you guys liked the chappie, don't forget to review! :D**

**Moar of this next week ;D**


	6. Chapter 5: The journey begins!

Chapter 5 : The journey begins

**Heya! Sorry about the big-ish delay for this one! O_O But the chapter is bigger so I guess I'm forgiven...? Oh well, if someone is interested in being a beta-reader for this story, please PM me! That'd be a great help! :)**

**Moving on, Kaylin is heroic in that one and finally is part of the group! :D **

**Disclaimer: I don't own ToS, but soon... soon... *evil laugh***

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Raine explained everything to me, from the World's Regeneration Journey to Colette's slow transformation in an angel. Their encounter with Sheena, the discovery of the links between the two worlds, the Desians, the human ranches, the Cruxis, the strange group of Renegades. She however only responded to my questions, never going into detail, not revealing what I supposed she wanted kept to themselves. But to be entirely sincere, I was astounded by how trustful she was of me. I wasn't their friend, I wasn't even from their world. How could she reveal that much to me? She didn't know that but I was closer to them than they thought: a lot of things made sense to me; the Cruxis, Yggdrasill, the Desians, mom had told me all about it.

And Colette, the poor girl, victim of that twisted system, going through such hardships. I was stunned by their story, and I found myself crying for them too as Genis and Lloyd gave me bits and pieces of information now and then. The story eventually came to an end and my flow of questions lessened. I quietly wiped my wet cheeks and looked at them in silence. My gaze stayed on Colette. Was she the savior of the worlds? Mom didn't tell which Chosen was the one. I was more inclined to think about the blonde now. That was too confusing! Who was I linked to? I... I...

I blinked and realized it didn't matter, who was I, thinking about myself when Colette was suffering just in front of me?

As the silence settled, I stared into nothing, my throat dry.

"Hey Raine" I heard Genis saying softly, "What's going to happen to us now?" He looked pretty depressed, and was staring at his shoes.

"I assume they're going to arrest us." She smiled bitterly, leaving us dumbfounded.

"What?!" Shouted Lloyd, looking up. "What for?"

"Presea, Kaylin." I looked up, staring at her sad icy blue eyes, "I'm sorry for dragging you into this but it seems that-" she was suddenly cut off by Papal knights entering the room, along with the Pope himself. I frowned, this was going to get hairy.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, people of Sylvarant" he said, not looking sorry at all.

I then noticed that Zelos was standing right behind them, leaning casually on the door frame.

"So you read the letter." Stated Lloyd, trying to keep his hands in his pockets, obviously very nervous.

"You want to use Tethea'lla's technology to save the Chosen from your side, right?" Inquired Zelos, probably unsure of what to think about it all.

"Colette has lost her soul, she'll lose her life as a human if she stays this way!" The teen answered, his face reflecting his emotions like a mirror: fear, despair, hope, paradoxical emotions.

Zelos' face darkened and the Pope intervened: "But as long as the Chosen lives, our world teeters on the brink of destruction."

Wait, what was he getting at? He couldn't possibly...

"Wait, please, listen to...!" Lloyd and I exclaimed at the same time. They couldn't, they just couldn't throw away all of their hard work just like this! Colette... Colette may be the Chosen, but she wasn't a threat! She didn't deserve this! I...

Lloyd stared at me, surprised that I would defend them even if they were strangers to me. "Kaylin..." He was probably right, it might seem crazy but I actually knew that taking her away would be **wrong**, utterly wrong. She... She was just like me, a stranger in her own world.

_Winged freak! _I could still hear the shouts of children throwing rocks at me.

_We don't want you here, you monster! You'll give us nothing but trouble!_ Young mothers, too, protectively embracing their children.

_B-b-back away! Don't come anywhere near me! You're disgusting!_ Old men, chasing me away with their walking stick, and the cold stares my 'friends' gave me everyday. I could remember it all, it was still very fresh and even though it didn't last long, people began ignoring me up until now.

But Colette wasn't like that! She had friends who cared for her, who would go to hell and back to save her! She.. sounded like a kind person.

"Just listen to them." I repeated, voice shaking.

The Pope then furrowed his brows and shook his head vehemently. "I don't want to hear anything! Get them!"

I tried to shield Colette with my body when the guards got closer, only to be shoved away. All air was forced out of my lungs as I landed roughly on my back.

"Don't interfere, you brat!" The Papal knight growled, glaring at me, and I felt my blood boiling.

I watched the scene hopelessly as the guards surrounded the blonde girl, holding back tears of frustration. I clenched my fists and gasped when all of them were shoved aside and landed on the floor, armors and everything. My eyes widened at the realization and I snickered; payback, dorks! It was true Colette had awesome defensive skills, as I witnessed when she had thrown that Zelos guy across the square.

"Damn! They can't even scratch her!" Yelled the Pope in bewilderment.

"See? I told you. They have exspheres. Of course they're powerful." Remarked the Chosen, a faint smile playing on his lips.

"Mmmh, you're not as dumb as you look." Said Genis, annoyed and obviously not over the whole 'I'm not interested in talking to guys' thing.

Zelos gave him a sharp look in return. "Impudent brat."

I eventually realized the position I was in, lying on my back, that is, and made myself more comfortable as I sat cross-legged on the comfy red carpet.

Raine cut all of them off, raising her hand slowly. "What would you say to making a deal?"

A deal? What was she up to? I raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to go further in her explications.

"Colette lost her soul because she was being reborn as an angel in order to save Sylvarant." She stated, waiting for us to process.

Zelos was the first to react. "I see. So if we save the Chosen, Tethea'lla will be saved as well..." He held up a finger, then smirked, "But if you do that, that means you'll be abandoning Sylvarant, am I right?" My eyes widened at the realization: those guys were abandoning their home world? In order to save Colette they... I closed my eyes and took the information, gulping.

"I don't care." She bluntly answered, without any hesitation. And I could see through her eyes that she had thought things through a long time ago.

I... It was too rushed for me to process everything that had been happening, I had so many questions to ask and yet I couldn't say anything! I was boiling with crave of knowledge and frustration. But I had to accept it, I had to stay where I belong and only accept things when they came to me. I had to if I wanted to fit in.

I set my face in a determined way and crossed my arms, waiting for their reactions, quiet witness of what I couldn't understand. I smiled bitterly and took everything in.

"Professor?!" Lloyd exclaimed, "What are you saying?!"

"Our priority right now is to save Colette, is it not?"

I understood Raine's reasoning. If they came here for her in the first place, there was no decision to be made, it was crystal clear. They just had to move forward and go with the flow, didn't they? She would save the worlds after all, right?

I listened to them for a while as they were arguing about the importance of their actions and whatnot. Soon, my frustration flew away, only to be replaced by a cool, quiet and firm confidence. As they went on, the answer became more and more evident, and it was all the more easy that I knew the final outcome of this story.

I waited for them to finish but it didn't seem they could choose. I then decided to step in and help them a bit with their reasoning.

"That's why you came all the way to Tethe'alla, right?" I looked at them calmly, opening my eyes.

Surprised, everyone in the room stared at me. I smiled.

"Is she worth it?" I asked sweetly, looking straight at Lloyd and Genis.

"Of course she is!" Shouted Lloyd, outraged.

I smiled again. We were getting somewhere. "Then your decision is all made isn't it?" "You-you're right I guess..." He muttered, eyes wide.

"Good." I simply answered, feeling at peace, at last.

"Is there internal discord?" The Pope broke the silence I didn't even realized had taken place.

"No!" Shot back Lloyd, determined. "No." He repeated, getting a hold of himself. "We'll do as the professor suggested and make a deal. Please tell us how to save Colette."

That's when Zelos intervened, "Say, Pope, if these guys don't go back to Sylvarant, then it doesn't matter if they're alive or dead." I frowned. Did that guy have to be so painfully blunt? I sighed, it was true our lives were on the line now... H-hey! Since when did I start referring to them as 'us'? I bit my lip nervously and started to wonder if omitting I was from Tethe'alla was such a good idea. I mean, sure, I want to help them, but couldn't I be a little selfish?

_Fortunately, I was here in time to heal you. A few hours later and you were dead._

"_My name is Raine, and the young woman on your right is Sheena. Genis is still upstairs, and this is Lloyd and Colette."_

"_Of course he didn't" Raine smiled sweetly. "We'll help you to find him then."_

"_So what if you're a half-elf? I raised my head slowly, was he making fun of me? But what I saw was a purely genuine look. No disgust, no hatred. _

"_We understand, we won't tell" Raine cut me off, then softened. "It must have took you a lot to say that, thank you for trusting us." She said, smiling._

No, I couldn't. I couldn't be selfish when those people had been so kind to me, they even saved my life! From now on, I was a Sylvaranti, helping out my friend Colette and traveling with my companions. I would do it for the sake of the people who'd help me out, for the sake of Colette who didn't deserve her cruel fate and for dad's sake too, I would definitely find him if I stayed with them.

"So I'll go along and keep tabs on them. That should be fine." A voice interrupted my thoughts, making me jump. My eyes widened as I realized who had been talking. ...Zelos? That had to be a problem.

"If you insist, Chosen One." Oh, and the Pope was agreeing too. Great.

"Then you'll save Colette right?" I heard Genis saying in a small voice, obviously not pleased with the situation either.

"Well, we'll do what we can anyway, I swear on my name as Zelos, the Chosen." So that guy was going to tag along, huh? I swear, three people joining in one day... Those guys had to be pros. First, me, then Presea, and now that redhead. Oh joy. I stood up, rubbing my back, not noticing how bitter Zelos had sounded, also failing to notice his fake smile and shaking hands.

"I'll give you permission to travel Tethe'alla, but only under the Chosen's observation." I pouted at his words and Genis gave me an understanding look, shaking his head dramatically. I giggled at that and he deadpanned. Oh, that was not a joke, forget it, then. The kid must think I'm a bipolar now, switching moods like this. But then again, I've been told mom and dad were like ice and fire, wouldn't that make a bipolar? Ah the wonders of genetics!

"Then it's settled!" grinned the redhead, opening the door that I thought was already open. Weird.

"I'm going to get ready, so can we meet up later?" He asked as I paled when it hit me. I was going to save the worlds at some point if I stayed with them, wouldn't I? The prophecy, my awakening, two freaking Chosens on a journey! That had to be it! It was the journey for the world's union. Goddess, and I was in the middle of everything! Way to go, Kaylin, first time you leave Exire and you've gotten yourself into something like that. I shook my head, a grin forcing its way to my face. That was going to be a heck of a journey, wasn't it? Oh and that idiot was going to get ready, right? That reminded me of my obvious lack of belongings. No weapon, no money, no clothes! I was going to freakishly save the worlds with nothing but the clothes I had on! I frowned, used to my little comfort. This was not going to be fun. And I was going to stink too.

A red gloved hand waved before my eyes and I blinked a few times before noticing Lloyd was talking to me.

"Oh, sorry, what were you saying again?" I blushed, ashamed of my spacing-out tendency in crucial moments.

"Zelos was just saying that we could meet up at the Martel cathedral in a few moments. But it looked like you were reluctant to go in this morning so I was wondering if that was okay with you." He asked innocently.

Damn you, Lloyd! I couldn't draw more attention on me or they would get suspicious. I couldn't allow that to happen. Zelos was already eying me oddly and the Pope was staring at me like I had grown to heads.

"No, no, that's okay with me, I wasn't feeling well this morning is all!" I laughed nervously, tugging on my collar.

Lloyd paused for a moment and then grinned, "Alright then!"

I let out a small sigh in relief. Thank goddess for that guy's short attention span. Now, I had to somehow find an excuse not to go in that damn church.

"Then, Chosen One, please report this to His Majesty." The Pope said, annoyed for a reason.

"You got it!" Zelos shot back, grinning. "Well then, see you later, my gorgeous lady, cute Chosen, wild puppy, and tiny rosebud." He winked at me, making me growl. "Oh, and you, servant boys." He pulled a disdainful face at Genis and Lloyd which made them cringe.

Zelos then stepped out of the room and waved a hand behind his back, disappearing in the endless corridors. I sighed, the guy was an enigma, he could either be dead serious or a careless idiot, and I was not sure if his true-self was even one of those two.

* * *

After a good ten minutes, we were outside the castle, safe and sound. I heard my stomach rumbling: We were there since the morning and we all needed a good lunch after all of those tiring events. Well, I did, at least. On the way to the inn, I observed silently the others, thinking about what I had just learned. Everything was going way too fast and I felt like I was going to wake up anytime, but that was reality. I watched as Raine talked to Presea, apologizing for the trouble and offering her to join us at lunch. I smiled bitterly and looked up to the sky. I was not lonely anymore, mom. Just watch me.

We ate in silence at the inn, and as I didn't really felt like talking, I preferred watching Genis' attempts to flirt with Presea.

"U-umm, say Presea?"

"..." She didn't budge.

"H-how are you d-d-doing?" He managed to say, missing the table with his elbow.

"..." She turned to him, staring at his forehead, probably.

"Uh, P-Presea?" He asked, his face flushed.

"No damages recorded." She said flatly as Genis' face fell. "I-I... Umm, I guess it's good?"

I suppressed my laughter by shoving bread in my mouth, which turned out to make me choke onto it instead. I turned away quickly before the elf noticed.

Goddess, those two were just too hilarious for their own good.

Then again, I wondered about Presea. How come she was so emotionless? She wasn't another Colette and maybe she was just naturally quiet, but something seemed off about her. After a few moments, I talked Raine into making people believe I was a Sylvaranti and she agreed, saying that she had thought about it too, for different reasons, though. I followed the others outside as we once again made our way to the upper part of the city. It was almost 5 pm, and my injury was stinging again. Raine had said briefly that, even with her healing arts, the wound would leave a scar and it would hurt from time to time during a week or so if I forced on it. I mean, I was grateful to be alive, but I had to admit it DID hurt a lot. And those stairs definitely weren't helping. Well, it wasn't like I had a choice anyway.

After much climbing and walking, we finally arrived in front of the cathedral, by the big fountain I had sat on, this very morning.

Raine was watching me intensely and I understood I couldn't avoid the cathedral now. Damn it, I should have pretended a headache or something back in the inn. But it was too late, and all I could do was clutch on my purple exsphere at the base of my neck, hoping my mother wouldn't appear in front of everyone. That would certainly cause a commotion, plus my cover would blow up.

I once asked mom why churches were the only places where she could appear, when I was about 10 and she had smiled and knelt before me on the stone floor. "Kaylin dear" she had said, "Churches are spiritual places where people feel at peace and confess their worst fears. They are only buildings at first, made of stone and wood, just like your house." I had giggled as she made a silly face. Then, she had softened and gazed out of the wooden window. "...But it's people's will and devotion that makes them special, you see?" The soft moonlight coming from the windows made her look like an angel and her fair white skin was glowing. I had grinned and closed my eyes. "I see."

I decided to enter the cathedral after everybody so I could back off quickly if something happened. I took a deep breath as I stepped in the huge church and couldn't help but gape at the sight before me. I had expected a bigger version of Exire's chapel, a round building with wooden walls and stone floor. But THAT was surely not to be expected. There was a huge marble altar in the center of the... room? Surrounded by big pillars. The stained-glass windows told the story of Martel and the Great Seed, as well as the sacred land of Kharlan and the angels serving the sleeping goddess in heaven. Everything was bullshit, of course, but I had to admit that the artwork was amazing, the colors were bright, the pictures well-defined and truly breath-taking. A faint light made me jump and I looked at my exsphere in horror.

It was now glowing with a purplish light and I could feel my mother trying to get to me. Panicked, I pretended I wanted to take a closer look at some paintings and drifted off to a corner.

"Go away mom! Please go away!" Poking the small stone, I tried to make the light go away, without succeeding. However, when I took it off, the glowing finally stopped, making me sigh in relief. Glancing around, I finally put it in my pocket and returned to the others, unaware of my little episode. After a few steps, I noticed a certain redhead, sitting on a bench, a rather serious expression on his face. He was lost in his thoughts, an arm slung around his held up knee.

Lloyd then stepped right in front of him so he could acknowledge us.

Zelos glanced at us and grinned, returning to his idiotic-self. "Yo Lloyd! You're finally here!"

"Err, Zelos, right?" Said Lloyd, awkwardly standing there.

"Yep, yep, I am the great Zelos Wilder. But you can just call me Zelos!" exclaimed the latter, self-proclaimed 'Greatness', winking at Raine. This guy... Had winking issues. We all deadpanned and Zelos quickly moved on, noticing our cold stares.

"We're going to be traveling together for a while so, um, let's be friends, mmkay?" He half-asked, grinning again.

Genis muttered something about him being an idiot and pouted adorably. He then noticed Presea standing right behind him and tried not to blush. He failed.

"Let's see..." Continued the Chosen, eying us in detail. "Putting aside the two guys, this gorgeous beauty is Raine, right? And then this cool cutie and this adorable babe here would be Colette and Kaylin." I blushed at that and shook my head furiously, would he stop with the nicknames already? That was called... Flirting, right?

"And then who's this little one?" He asked, pointing to Presea.

Genis then stepped in front of her, folding his arms protectively.

"Presea, she helped us sneak into the castle." Sweet how he blushed when he said her name.

"The little one isn't from Sylvarant?" Zelos exclaimed, eyebrows flying up. Ooh, so he thought I was from Sylvarant too... Well, it would save me from the trouble of convincing him. The guy looked pretty nosy already and I was sure he was less dumb than he looked, quoting Genis.

Raine looked at me for a second but said nothing and closed her eyes in acknowledgment.

"...Ozette." said Presea after a while, in her toneless voice.

Ozette? That didn't sound familiar to me. Perhaps on the northern continent...

"Ozette!" I heard Zelos scream, obviously shocked. "That village out in the boondoc—ah! I mean, out in the forest!" He shouted in bewilderment, apparently disgusted by the countryside.

… What a twat.

"Oh that's so sad, you're being used by these uncivilized barbarians!" He then actually **looked **sorry for her.

"Who are you calling uncivilized barbarians?" Growled Lloyd, eyebrow twitching. Zelos then raised a hand to Lloyd's face, now only a few feet away from him.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't get mad!" He said, as laid-back as ever. "Especially after all the trouble I went through to contact the Imperial Research Academy for you." The redhead added, a smirk tugging on his lips.

"Not bad Zelos." Admitted Lloyd, changing moods faster than Genis blushed.

"I know!" Grinned the Chosen, proud of himself. "Using the Research Academy requires permission from the King, you know?"

The Imperial research academy, huh? I've heard of it tons of times at school. It especially interested me because it probably had all the information about dad, including his birth's day and location, that would give me some precious hints.

Raine's calm voice broke me out of my thoughts. "Going to the Imperial Research Academy is fine, but can we have you free Presea? Surely you don't need to keep tabs on her as well." I nodded, fully aware that I was watched as well now, I couldn't lower my guard as it seemed.

"No. The Imperial Research Academy and Ozette are both on the continent across the sea. So we can just drop her off when we go." Zelos didn't seem too pleased about going in the forest but I was truly excited at this thought. I wondered how forests were...  
"I-I agree!" Blurted out Genis, as red as Lloyd's outfit. I frowned, looking at the little girl with concern. "Is that okay with you, Presea?" I asked sweetly, the only one even caring about her feelings.

"Yes" She stared in front of her, which happened to be Genis' back. "A-Alright then!" exclaimed the latter, blushing furiously.

"Okay then, where should we go?" Lloyd asked, hopping from one foot to another, visibly very excited.

"To Sybak, it's on the other side of the grand Tethe'alla bridge. It's northeast of here." The redhead indicated, jumping on his feet, hair twirling. My, his hair was truly gorgeous. It was so wavy and silky and it... Glowed? How did he even do that? Mine is so dry I have to tie it in a tight braid so it doesn't become a mess.

"The Imperial Research Academy!" Cheered Lloyd, "I'm getting excited just thinking about it! Let's go, everybody!" He then rose his fist in the air and proceeded to head towards the exit.

I shook my head and smiled at the hyperactive teen. Wasn't he ever tired?

I followed the group and stole glances at Zelos' hair, bouncing on his shoulders, crimson locks shining under the afternoon sun... Okay, enough fantasizing on people's hair. Well, Colette's was flawless too, maybe it was a Chosen thing.

The head I had been staring at then turned quickly, making me jump. Unfortunately, the sly bastard saw me and smirked.

"Oh my, hunny, already checking me out?" He said, eyebrows rising suggestively.

I went three shades of red darker, hiding my blush under my dark gloved hand. "I wasn't exactly-" I began, only to be cut off by a loud whack.

Raine, seeing my discomfort, had hit him on the head. With her staff.

"Ack, don't be jealous, beautiful, there's more than enough for you t- Aaaah!?" I blinked as the professor beat him cold, a sort of red mist surrounding her.

… I wondered if that was the same mature and grown-up woman I met yesterday.

An animal growl was suddenly heard, followed by Zelos' scream.

… Just asking.

"Ouch, hunny, why so violent?" the redhead scratched the back of his head, ignoring the death glare Raine was giving him, "But, darling, I don't think we should leave for Sybak right now."

"And why would that be?" Raine inquired, crossing her arms.

"Well, y'see, with the walking and all, it should take at least one or two days to reach the town." He said, holding up two fingers to prove his point.

"Your point being?" Raine cocked an eyebrow.

"The bridge closes at night and I'm sure you don't want to be crossing it when it does." Zelos casually laced his fingers behind his neck.

"I'm positively sure that the pastor told us it would only take a few hours to reach that bridge from Meltokio. If we leave now, we might make it before the night." Raine placed her hands on her hips.

"Ooooh, so you don't know about that!" He teased her, beating around the bush.

Oh! I was finally understanding what he was getting at.

The grand Tethe'alla bridge was held up at night to prevent any fugitive or criminal to go from one continent to the other, mostly because of spies these days. But the most important part was that the bridge itself took something like 5 hours to cross. If we left now, we would never make it to the other side before nightfall and would be... Well, thrown into the ocean.

I sighed and tugged at Raine's orange coat. "Professor, he's right, we should stay the night here. The bridge is really long, probably around 5 hours long." I explained, cutting Zelos' teasing.

Raine's eyes widened at the realization and she began to tremble. "5 hours long... I see..." She paused, then grabbed my shoulders, shouting. "How? How would the architecture be flexible yet concrete enough to support the metallic structure? That is the highest level of technology I could ever dream of seeing! It's the perfect application of the ancient magitechnology! It's a miracle!" She then ranted about the structure of the bridge and its gravity defying abilities passionately as Zelos and I looked at her, stunned.

Genis then sighed. "And here she goes again..." He turned sarcastically to me. "Thanks Kaylin."

"Anytime." I grinned, still uneasy, as he shook his head dramatically.

Regaining his composure, Zelos then leaned on me, flinging an arm around my shoulders. "Very interesting, my sweet hunny, and how would you know that?" I froze, he had me there. Why couldn't I just shut my big mouth?

"Err, about what?" I asked, hoping he would let me off the hook.

"How would a Sylvaranti know so much about the grand Tethe'alla bridge, huh?"

I sweat dropped and clenched my fists. That sly bastard really was watching us closely, despite his laid-back appearance. I shivered, brain working at full speed.

"Sheena told me" I blurted out, relieved to have found something, and added, "We were roommates."

He didn't seem too convinced because he continued questioning me. "Is that so? You almost sounded like you knew exactly what you were talking about."

"Really?" I played dumb, giggling. "Well, I do know my stuff now. Sheena's an amazing storyteller if you ask me."

He opened his mouth to say something else but was interrupted by Raine asking him to take her right away to the bridge so she could study it in detail. He then took his arm off my shoulder and whined about having to sleep outside and the likes, but not before giving me a long side-glance. I shivered but smiled, keeping up the act.

I then went to Lloyd, Genis and Presea, watching Raine and Zelos from the cathedral's steps.

"The professor can be really scary sometimes." Lloyd commented, his face paling as Raine beat the Chosen in front of the church, for whatever reason it was.

I nodded, lost in my thoughts, the professor sure was an oddball.

Back in Exire, our professor was a small man, with round glasses and jade green hair. He always had a smile on his face and joked about everything. We used to talk a lot about Tethe'alla together, how he would travel from place to place when he was young and how wonderful that had been. Incredible stories with wonderful landscapes: mountains, plains, lakes, cities, forests! He was the only one who understood my need to go away, and was always eager to share his memories with me. And yet, when the rumor about me began to spread, he showed his true colors and stopped talking to me after class, avoiding my gaze during the lessons. I felt... Betrayed. Because he was an adult and I trusted him. He was smart enough to know better but he still ignored me for the sake of his reputation. He was a coward. But... Even after that, I still couldn't bring myself to hate him, because I still valued him as a professor and as a friend. I guess fear was the thing that made him stop traveling around too.

I felt bitterness wash over me at the painful memory and decided to separate the two young adults.

"Raine, we're wasting our time here, if you want to study that bridge, we should get going." I placed a hand on her shoulder, making her stop her ranting.

"Aw, I knew you loved me, my cute puppy, that's so sweet of you!" Zelos shouted, still on the ground, and I ignored the idiot's comment.

"Oh, you're right! I absolutely have to study the bridge! Simply marvelous!" I face palmed, she had the same attention span as Lloyd.

Either way, I smiled, looking at our little group. We were a jolly team, weren't we? A fashion disaster, an abusive professor, a twelve year-old and his one-sided crush, a soulless teen and a womanizer. Oh, and there was me, too, the hopeless half-wit!

I felt... I felt just... Happy? I don't know why but it just seemed... right to be here with them, despite my presence might screw things up a bit. In the distance, I saw Zelos getting beaten up once again and I laughed frankly, this time.

I was still laughing when I caught up to them as we exited the city. And then began our wondrous journey, we bunch of idiots.

* * *

**Bloopers**

"**And what would you say to making a deal?"**

**A deal? What was she up to? I raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to go further in her explications. **

"**We shall give you marshmallows." She stared at the Pope, a smirk tugging at her lips.**

"**I-impossible, you're bluffing! You can't possibly have-!" He was cut off by Raine, taking out a familiar pink package from her pocket. "-Marshmallows..." The Pope finished dreamily, drooling.**

"**So?" Challenged Raine, her smirk widening.**

"**D-Damn, it's a deal! Just gimme my marshmallows for Martel's sake!"**

* * *

**Thanks for reading this! Hopefully I'll update in time next week! :D **

**Please review! That'd make me happy! And... Yuan, too!... I think!**


	7. Chapter 6: Traveling and other fun stuff

Chapter 6: Traveling

**Hello there! Worked hard from 7 till 9 to finish that one! It's basically all the traveling they have to go through until they reach Sybak. Well I take it Lloyd, Raine and Genis are used to it but you'll find out Kaylin really isn't... Also some humor although I'm not really good at it, some Lloyd's corny speeches, and some Genis awkwardness!**

**Enjoy ;D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ToS, but ToS owns me**

* * *

We walked during hours until sunset, finally reaching the bridge, and decided to set camp there. The sunset itself was a breathtaking sight. In Exire, there were often clouds blocking the view, as we flied along with them, but I would fly through the golden suspended structures on these precious minutes when the sky turned pink. Here, I could see the sun reflecting on the ocean, millions of sparkles filling the horizon line. The bridge just sat there, monumental, a giant of steel crossing a sea of gold. I couldn't take my eyes off it. Raine had finally been convinced into waiting until the morning to study the bridge, but I knew she was burning to go.

To tell the truth, I wanted to see it from close up too. Everything on the ground fascinated me, from the houses to the trees, even the flowers looked foreign to me. My favorite subject had always been history. I loved learning more and more about Tethe'alla, and I would ask more from Sylvarant as well from my mother. And I still lacked of great knowledge! I was burning to ask the professor to teach me Sylvarant's history. But soon, really soon, the worlds would be reunited. And I would travel around as much as possible.

I watched dreamily the last rays of sunlight disappearing beyond the tree line of the southern continent and sat up, uncrossing my legs. Genis had called me a few minutes ago and I'd replied I would come as soon as the sunset was gone. He had given me a look but only nodded, running back to the camp.

I had been excited at the thought of camping, but it appeared it just meant lighting a campfire and sleeping with our bag as a pillow. Walking back to the others, I smelled a weird scent tickling my nose. Was it... Watermelon and... Satay? What kind of food did those people eat in Sylvarant anyway? In the distance, I heard people yelling.

"Who let her do the cooking?"

"I-I swear Genis, it wasn't me!"

A loud whack.

"Stop talking as if I weren't there!"

"Ack, sorry professor, but couldn't you cook just normal rice bowls?"

"But consider the sweet flavor of watermelon, combined with the spicy white pepper and the neutral rice! Think of all the new flavors!"

I got closer and tried to get the hang of the conversation, or at least tell who was saying what.

"It's useless to talk about flavors if you put that much pepper in there... Wait, where did you find these mushrooms?"

"Anything this gorgeous lady cooks shouldn't be that bad, right?" Now that voice was Zelos' for sure.

"... Do you have a dead wish?"

Another loud whack

I climbed up the little sandy hill to find Lloyd rubbing his head, shouting in disbelief.

"Hey! That wasn't me!"

"Same thing! Why don't you just taste it then?" Answered Raine, folding a suspicious-looking pan, green steam coming out of it. Lloyd backed out a little, eying the pan as if it was going to jump at him... Which wasn't exactly stupid, considering its unique shape. I then noticed Zelos had chickened out and left, that little prick.

"... Oh Kaylin, you're here! Why don't you just try out my new recipe?"

Uh-oh, spotted.

"Um... Thank you, I'll pass." I sweat-dropped. "I ate a lot at lunch, aand, I'm not hungry, that is. So I'll just, you know, skip dinner... and do something else." I finished, laughing nervously. Genis then jumped when Raine called him.

"Oh, it's a shame, then. Genis, why don't you try it? You said you were starving earlier!"

The poor kid, sentenced to death, looked around, and saw that the redhead was missing. "Oh wait, I think Zelos said something about wanting to taste it earlier, you should go ask him. Right, Lloyd?" He smirked, that devious little guy.

"Really?" Raine brightened up, having found a new experiment.

"Wait, he did?" Lloyd ruined the moment, being thick-headed.

"Yes, yes, I think I remember him saying that too!" I intervened, not wanting to raise Raine's suspicions. And Genis seemed on the verge of strangling Lloyd too.

"Are you sure, guys?" the latter frowned, stubbornly being an idiot.

"YES, we're absolutely positive!" We shouted at the same time, plus Genis kicking him. "Oh, right then." Lloyd said, annoyed.

I sighed in relief, and spoke to Raine again as she raced to Zelos in the distance. "What about the green steam, though?"

"Nonsense. It's evaporation." She grumbled, happily too far away to slap me.

She then disappeared from our sight, calling Zelos' name.

Genis sighed and sank to the ground, relieved beyond words.

"Sorry Genis, that was me." Lloyd blurted out, still shaking in fear. The little elf only glared at him in response, too exhausted to kick him.

"Well, I guess I'll make some sandwiches then." He sighed again. "I'll help." I immediately offered.

A few minutes later, we were all chewing on our sandwiches silently, vaguely wondering how was doing the redhead when the latter showed up.

In a bad state

The Chosen was practically dragging himself up the hill, looking like he was going to throw up.

… Or like he had thrown up.

"Tell... My hunnies... I loved them..." Zelos dramatically slumped on the sand, clutching his stomach. My eyes widened. He didn't...!

"Oh dear..." I whispered. Zelos had eaten that thing.

Raine then appeared, looking very annoyed. She surprisingly remained silent and took a sandwich. "Um, Sis?" Asked Genis, troubled, "Where is your pan?"

She just glared at Zelos and we all turned to him.

"Huh, it kinda... Flew off? Vanished?" He tried, lifting himself up, still rubbing his stomach. Ooh so that was how it happened! Genis and I snickered.

"So that's why you're still alive, huh?" The little elf said slyly.

We high-fived, grinning, and Raine threw her boot at us.

"Well, partly." Zelos eventually answered, catching the professor's other boot as she threw it at his face.

"Um... I still don't get it?" Said Lloyd, confused.

"Basically, Zelos threw Raine's um... cooking away and she kicked him." I answered, snorting. I was glad the professor didn't have three feet.

"Oooh!" Finally said Lloyd in realization. He then chuckled and finished his sandwich, glancing at Raine who was emitting a dark aura from time to time.

After a few minutes of tension, I got up and put my sleeveless gloves on. "I'll walk for a bit if you don't mind." The atmosphere was getting heavy and I wanted to check on my exsphere.

Lloyd got up as well. "Do you mind if I come along?" He asked, shoving his hands on his pockets.

I considered it for a moment and nodded. "Sure, why not."

We walked on the shore for a few minutes, watching the two moons raising in the night sky. I caught myself thinking about flying: two days and I missed it already. That journey was going to be long.

"We're going to Sybak, right?" Lloyd suddenly asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, that's a few day's walk from here." I answered, recalling my geography lessons.

"I just remembered that earlier, didn't you want to find your father in Meltokio first?" Lloyd inquired, concerned.

I blinked. He remembered that? "Yeah, I intended to look for him today but everything happened so darn fast and now that Zelos guy is keeping tabs on us." I said, actually more caring about the worlds' reunification.

Lloyd only frowned and lowered his head. "... I'm so sorry. If it wasn't for us-"

"-If it wasn't for you, I'd be dead at the moment, remember?" I smiled at him reassuringly. "Besides, Meltokio was just a speculation, my father could as well be in Sybak!"

Lloyd immediately lightened up a bit, his eyes meeting mine. "Yeah... You know what? When Colette is back to normal, we'll all look for your father together, okay?" He squeezed my shoulder firmly. "I promise." He added, a look of determination set on his face. And I believed him, I definitely believed him.

Moved, I felt my eyes widening.

"Y-you would actually do that?" He then grinned, in a Lloyd way, and I had the feeling he could do anything if he tried hard enough.

"Of course! That's what friends are for, right?"

"Friends?" I repeated, frowning. He was being unreasonably naive, at this point.

"Yup!"

"But... You don't know me, and we've met like this morning! Don't you think that's a bit extreme?" I asked, troubled. What was his problem? He couldn't just throw that word around like it was no big deal!

"To me, friends are people I have a good time with. It doesn't matter if I met them a year ago, a month ago or an hour ago. Friends are friends! Who cares if I don't know your past or your problems? If you trust me, you'll rely on me. I trust you and will help you out, because you're my friend. Don't you feel the same way? I saw you throw yourself to protect Colette in the castle, and we told you everything we've been through. We're even traveling together, doesn't that make us friends?" Lloyd finished, smiling honestly, his chocolate brown eyes full of wisdom.

My jaw dropped at his speech, making my eyes watering. Could someone be that selfless and positive? His point of view was simple and unique. He was... so damn honest and yet unbelievable. I smiled softly, stroke by his words.

"Yeah, you're right. We're friends. I'm glad then."

"And so am I." He grinned again. "Well, better head back then, Kay?"

I laughed light-heartily at his pathetic attempt of a joke/nickname and nodded. We walked back to the camp and I noticed how exhausted I was.

When I settled down for the night, I heard Lloyd whispering.

"Good night, Kay." I chuckled.

"Good night Lloydie." I whispered back, my eyelids closing themselves as I drifted into sleep. Just before falling asleep, I heard a faint lullaby and a smile formed on my lips. Everything was definitely going to be alright.

The next morning, I was woken up by a loud thump just a few feet away from me. Startled, I got up hastily, looking for my dagger I hid under my bed.

… Except I wasn't in my bed, and the loud thump was the sound of Lloyd's body crashing to the ground. Geez, it wasn't a dream, huh? I yawned and wrinkled my nose: I needed a bath. Getting up, I inspected my nails covered in dirt and pouted. At least I could clean those in the ocean. Breaking out of my daydreams, I focused more on the teen lying beside me, obviously in pain.

"Morning." I stretched, smiling softly at Lloyd's bed hair.

"Oww... Oh, good morning Kay." He turned to me, grinning.

He was going to stick to that nickname, wasn't he?

"What did you say to the Professor again?" I asked, fighting against the urge of laughing at him.

"Nothing, really!" He held out his hands, shouting.

"Come on Lloydie, we both know you-" I was cut off by a rather loud manly scream, coming from my right. Zelos.

I grinned, turning to see the show.

"Ack, hunny, I'm getting up! Just don't ruin my beautiful face!" The redhead shouted, dodging a flying spoon.

"How dare you oversleep when I have such important studying to do!" The professor growled, grabbing her staff.

"Okay, if she asks you, I didn't just wake up two minutes ago." I whispered, hiding behind Lloyd, unprepared to face Raine's wrath so early in the morning.

"Got it." He grinned again as Zelos made his way towards us.

"Hey, you! Cover me!" He yelled, earning an inquiring look from Lloyd.

"...What?"

The Chosen ignored him as he noticed me hiding behind the teen.

"Ooh, and here you are, wild pup." He smirked. "Had a wonderful night, dreaming about me?"

"You wish." I glared at him, cheeks burning, doing my best angry expression... And failing, 'cause he laughed it off and walked away to hit on Presea or something.

I childishly stuck my tongue at him and crossed my arms, rumbling.

"What's wrong with that guy?" I heard Lloyd saying, annoyed.

"Well, he caught me staring yesterday, so he's being extremely annoying." I commented, watching the redhead being rejected by Pigtails.

"And why were you staring?" the boy genuinely asked.

"Umm, never mind that. Oh, isn't it professor Sage cooking over there?" I quickly changed the subject.

"What?! No! Not again!" And with that he rushed to the others, leaving me alone, blinking.

Well, that was easy.

It turned out that Genis had done the cooking, happily, and damn that kid knew how to cook! It was hard to believe him and Raine were siblings, regarding their cooking skills.

A few minutes later, we were in front of the bridge. And I could easily understand why it was called the 'grand' Tethe'alla bridge. I mean, this thing was huge! We all looked around, Raine holding herself back, probably wanting to hug one of the pillars or something.

"Whoa! That's a huge bridge!" Thanks Lloyd, for pointing out the obvious.

"Listen and be amazed, bumpkins." I heard Zelos saying, crossing his arms, a wide smirk plastered on his face. "This is the greatest drawbridge in the world, it connects the continents of Altamira and Fooji." He continued, definitely enjoying the lesson. "Its control system incorporates 3000 exspheres." He finished, making us freeze.

Oh goddess, he was right. The books mentioned it too and, oh dear, they were people, right? I felt my stomach twisting and my breakfast threatening to break free.

"Three thousand human lives..." I whispered, in shock. It was... Sick.

"Mmh? What? What's wrong? What's with those faces?" The redhead inquired, obviously not expecting this at all.

"I suppose we'd better tell you." Sighed Raine, stealing glances at me. The woman then proceeded to explain everything once again, reminded me the horror of the situation. I eyed my own exsphere, wondering in fear: How did mom get one? I wanted to throw up. If my uncle made those after mom's death, then why did she have one in the first place? Did she... kill someone in order to get one?

I closed my eyes and shivered as Raine finished her story. "And that's it, that's all we know."

Zelos, who had been patiently waiting for once, furrowed his brows, unsure. "That's a pretty sobering story, is that really true?"

"Do you think we'd make up something like that?" Lloyd chuckled darkly, staring at the ground.

Zelos, being Zelos, immediately started smiling again, startling everybody. "Oh, well, even so, it's not like the dead are going to come back to life at this point. It's always best to look at the bright side of things!" He grinned and I clenched my fists. How could he be so tactless at times like that? I shook my head, unable to decipher the redhead's brain. That guy really was unpredictable.

"I can't tell if he's a positive thinker or just doesn't care about anything." Raine wondered aloud, sighing for the hundredth time today.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Lloyd scratching his head, making a face. "Since we're on the subject, you and Presea have exspheres too. Does everyone have exspheres in this world?" He glanced at me for a second but quickly settled on Zelos. Hmmh, I'd like to know that. In my village, there are only three people having an exsphere: the Elder, my friend Toden, and me. Just like me, Toden got it from his parents, or, to be more specific, his dad. I kind of missed him, he was the only one actually being forced to avoid me. I didn't resent him at all for he would smile at me apologetically from time to time, he was still my best friend.

"Mmh, nope. I got this from these guys who call themselves the Renegades. They distributed quite a few of them to Sheena and the Papal Knights and such." Finally answered the Chosen, crossing his arms.

So that was... Unexpected. Who were the so-called Renegades? Did Mom get her exsphere that way? Were they... terrorists or something?

"And Presea?" Whined Genis, talking for the first time of the day, eager to learn more about the little girl.

Zelos blinked, turning to Presea. "Beats me. Well, little one?"

"..." Presea ignored him, for a change.

"She's so talkative." Zelos remarked cynically, turning his back to us and walking off. Was Zelos actually upset? His face showed nothing but... Was he actually concerned about the exspheres' true origin? I shrugged it off, shaking my head. There was no point in worrying about every single thing, plus I had a bridge to cross. I sighed deeply, eying the bridge, its end disappearing in the morning fog.

Okay time to walk for hours! Geez I'm so excited..

"You'd better get used to it then." Raine retorted, making me jump.

"Did I say that out loud?" I blushed, turning to her.

"Err, no, I did." Answered Lloyd, grinning, and I could swear I heard Genis snickering.

"Oh." I simply said, embarrassed, and started kicking rocks. Surprisingly enough, Raine gave me a look of mild amusement, shaking her head while walking off. Strange how she never told me off. Maybe that had something to do with my angsty backstory? Argh, reminding me, was I too cheerful or something? Did I have to be all gloom and doom? That was so confusing, I hated lies!

So much about not worrying...

I sighed again, following everyone silently on the 3000-people bridge. Um, no, bad idea, better not think about it.

After a few minutes, bored, I decided to annoy Lloyd, grabbing his white ribbons while he walked. I giggled when he stopped abruptly and tripped on his foot, quickly joined by Genis as a new game fellow.

The next hour was Raine giving us a lecture after Genis bumped into her while playing tag. And no, I'm not exaggerating the length of said-lecture. The professor really had unsuspected abilities when it came to scolding.

After 5 long agonizing hours, we finally saw the end of the bridge, symbolizing the end of all hardship. Man, I was never crossing this bridge again!

I raced Lloyd and Genis to the heavenly ground and, curiously, Colette followed. For some reason.

We eventually stopped for lunch and continued our endless walk. But I wasn't the only one annoyed by our boring pace: every now and then, Lloyd wouldn't stop whining, asking for food or whatever. He eventually shut up when Raine coldly threatened him to cut down his ration for dinner. That was a pretty harsh thing to say but I could tell the professor was quite tensed to begin with. Of course Genis had to cheer Lloyd up... Which resulted in Raine hating us even more.

I caught myself often glancing at Colette during our walk.

I didn't feel like a part of the group already but I was sure I would love the blonde, she reminded me of my mother. Her kindness, her strength, everything I wasn't. Love filled me as I gazed at the innocent girl. She didn't deserve it. She looked so defenseless, I wanted to protect her, I wanted to help her, I...

"Hey puppy, someone there?"

I drifted out of my trance as a face drew close to mine, amusement dancing in its eyes. I gasped, jerking away and blinked as a familiar redhead smirked, locking gazes with me. I adverted mine, mumbling an insult to the jerk as I hid my flustered face.

We walked for a couple of hours and Raine announced that we would set camp there for the night, before sunset.

It was my turn to cook, so I settled for simple fried rice. We all ate in silence, exhausted by our long day. I excused myself and went for a short walk, there were the full moons tonight, and I wanted to stargaze too. I sat on the grass for a while, watching the night sky dreamily. It sure was pretty from down there. I was almost falling asleep when I suddenly heard someone coming towards me. Must be Lloyd or Zelos. I turned my head lazily, ready to tell them off, but curiously saw nothing.

I frowned, startled. I could've sworn I'd heard something.

… Like a growl. Panicked, I rolled away from the sound just to see a big grey wolf launching itself at me, its teeth showing. I dodged it in time, my reflexes coming back to me. Crap, crap, crap, that was NOT good, it was too close for me to cast something and I was too far away from the camp to make a run for it. Remembering my self-defense lessons, I prepared for the next attack. It never came.

"Fireball!" I heard in the distance, and the monster ran away, burnt badly.

"Kaylin! Are you alright?!" I heard someone shouting.

I turned to see Genis running down the grassy hill, his kendama in his hand.

"I'm ok, I think. Did you just do that?" I inquired, looking at his strange weapon.

"Yea, I'm glad you're okay." He answered. "You shouldn't wander on your own like this" the young boy scowled me, looking just like his sister. "It's dangerous." He added, looking away.

"Thanks about that." I nodded in appreciation. "What about you? What were you doing here anyways?"

"...I..." He seemed to waver for a minute but then looked straight at me, his eyes shining.

"I wanted to talk to you." His expression seemed sad, almost pleading, and the night air seemed even heavier, all of a sudden.

"To me?" I repeated, curious.

"Yea, I... We're friends, right?" He asked, shifting his gaze again. That reminded me of my conversation with Lloyd the night before. Were we friends, actually? I didn't exactly know so I answered with a vague formulation.

"...Hmm, if you feel that way, I guess we are." The elf didn't seem to relax at all.

"There's... I... Good! I mean... Yes, of course we are... That way..." I tilted my head to the side as I watched him ranting. Genis was acting really weird, and I could only understand half of what he was saying.

He suddenly looked up at me, biting his lip, and his eyes were full of... Fear? Was I scaring him? "I-I'm sorry! I can't!" With those words, he ran up the grassy hill and left me there, dumbfounded.

Just _what_ was up with him?

Frustrated, I headed back to the campsite and saw Genis lying down, curling in a ball, probably only feigning to be asleep. That kid was a mystery, honestly.

Before lying down myself, I caught a glimpse of Raine doing her night watch, gazing tenderly at her little brother and stroking his back soothingly. She did have this sweet motherly side too, huh? I smiled and the world became a blur.

I dreamt of my father that night. He was standing in what I recognized as Exire's chapel, cyan hair tied back in a long ponytail. He looked happy at first, genuinely blissful, but then, he noticed me and his face froze. "What are you doing here? Get out." He asked, his face turning into a mask of pure hatred. "I'm Kaylin." I answered numbly, not saying anything else. "You're lying." His blue eyes were cold. "Kaylin is dead." I protested. "I'm not! I'm standing right there!"

He then pointed at my stomach, and I realized I had been stabbed, a sword was going through me, blood dripping on the sandy stone floor. I fell to my knees and gasped, turning around painfully. Zelos Wilder was standing there, impaling me. And he was laughing. "Wing freak!" he kept repeating, over and over, before breaking into another fit of wicked laughter. His grin was tinted crimson.

I cried, helpless, and the world began to spin. From the corner of my eye, I saw my father walking out of the chapel, not even looking back, and the echoes of Zelos' maniac laugh were ringing endlessly, like an alarm in my head.

I woke up crying, sweat covering every inch of my skin, and I stroke my stomach to make the weird sensation go away. I wiped my face with my sleeve and sat up, the still wet grass squirming under my feet. A smell of earth filled my nostrils as I forced myself to inhale deeply, chasing the twisted memories remaining. After I had calmed down and walked for a bit, I sat awkwardly on the floor again, waiting for the others to wake up , and watched the sun rising in the pale morning sky. That was my third day already, wasn't it? I kind of missed home, I definitely missed Yadiel, and I missed mom too. I hoped there was a church in Sybak.

"Hi pup, you're up early!" The sound of Zelos' voice made me cringe but I still forced my lips into a crooked smile. Now... Was not a good time to see Zelos. To be frank, and I'm kinda ashamed to say that, his voice made me sick, being the perfect replica of my agitated nightmare's.

"Hi Zelos." I said, less energetically than I wanted it to be.

His face decomposed when he saw my wet cheeks. "Hey, hey, what's wrong hunny? You sad you didn't sleep with me? I can make it up to you anytime, y'know." I sighed at his shameless flirt, wiping my cheeks again.

"It's nothing, I just had a bad dream."

I wasn't even mad at him for flirting with me like that, I was just... I didn't really want to see his face or the memory of him wearing this crooked crimson smile would come back at full speed. After all, maybe it was his own way to cheer people up? Or he just wanted to see me flustered. Either way, I wasn't really in the mood.

He sat next to me cross-legged and grinned, making me look away.

"Well, there's no point in sulking over it right? Wanna hook up?" I face-palmed at his loss of tact. Come on, was he caring at all?

"You're getting tiring." I shot back, distancing myself from him. "Do you even..." I began, only to be cut off by the sound of a pan hitting something, followed by a shout.

… That 'something' was Lloyd, right? I got up, glancing at Zelos as the redhead arched an eyebrow.

"Never mind that, I'll go see what they're up to." I said, frowning.

"Alright, I might disappear for a couple of minutes, I think it was my breakfast duty this morning." He answered nervously.

I nodded and ran back to the camp only to find everyone awake, and Lloyd rubbing the back of his head, pouting. I cracked a smile at this sight. So this was Lloyd after all.

"Morning everyone." I greeted them.

"Woah, Kaylin, hey, where have you been?" Lloyd turned to me, surprised.

"Just around there, I woke up earlier." I indicated, pointing at where I went from.

"Say, have you seen Zelos? He's supposed to do the cooking." Lloyd asked, glancing at Raine.

"Mmh, nope, I didn't." I lied, saving the redhead's back.

The latter came back half an hour after that, earning himself two other cooking duties. I spent the morning walking and thinking about my exsphere again, not finding any answers though. I guess I had to ask the person herself. I avoided Zelos and Genis avoided me, so I mostly walked with Lloyd and Colette.

In the early afternoon, when my feet started aching and my sides were burning painfully, we finally caught a glimpse of what seemed like the outskirts of Sybak.

I sighed in relief: we were running out of games and Raine was seriously considering murder upon us, poor souls. "Wow, I thought we were never reaching it!" I smiled brightly, enjoying the sight in front of me. Funny how everything seemed surreal even now; the forest, the grassy hills, the stone path that lead all the way to the town, the river. Even the smell seemed dreamlike. How strange.

"Yeah, I'm glad too." Half-answered Lloyd, deep in his thoughts. I noticed the way he was glancing at Colette dreamily, the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. They were one step closer to her recovery after all.

All in all, we had spent two days and a half to reach it. As I said earlier, my feet hurt like hell as I wasn't used to walking, but I didn't feel too tired or anything so that was alright. Raine wanted us to sleep on the outskirts because she was short on money but Zelos pretty much threw his money at her, desperate for a good bed. I couldn't deny I wanted a bed as well, but I kinda felt guilty for relying on them like that. At first, I was apologizing all the time, but then Lloyd kinda accused me of sounding too much like Colette so I stopped.

As we entered Sybak's walls, I smiled to myself and tightened my cape around me in the chilly air, meanwhile wondering what was waiting us ahead.

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**Wrapped up ending, I know x) Seriously, tell me if something isn't clear for you, I'll also take any suggestions or critics, you are all welcome to leave a review! :)**

**I like reviews.**

**ANYWAY, I just realized I had updated within a week! Yay :D Holiday is my favorite thing to do... Err, holidaying, or whatever you call it.**

**Until next week, ;)**


	8. Chapter 7: Sybak

Chapter 7 : Sybak

**Hello there, here is the 7th chapter! :) With a few day's delay but this chapter was kinda hard to write. To be honest, I think this one didn't reach my expectations at all and I'm kinda ashamed to submit this :/ But here it is, or the story would never move on.**

**To my reviewer Dove: Thank you for reviewing, it made me happy :D For the two downsides you found, I totally agree with them, and I've thought this over for quite a long time too :/ First, I absolutely wanted Kaylin to be from Tethea'lla so I had no other choice but make her meet the group this far into the story. As for Kaylin's sudden admittance to her being a half-elf, it's part of her character. She's soft-hearted, and couldn't really bear lying to people when it could bring them misfortune, y'know? She's not perfect either, so she didn't really thought this through :p But it conveniently turned out well for her, right? ;)**

**Secondly, Yuan and Kaylin will meet soon enough, but what'll happen is for you to wait and for me to know :D As for the pairings, it will be up to you guys! Let me know what your favorite pairing is and I'll pick one! Or let me know if you don't want one and you think that will worsen the story then I'll not do anything, if that makes sense x)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own ToS, but it would be appreciated, Namco.**

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In the end, I ended up sharing a room with Colette, Raine was with Presea and Genis was with Lloyd and Zelos. I was surprised Raine'd let me stay with the blonde seeing as how protective she was with her, but I guess I couldn't do any harm to her in the state she was in... Plus Lloyd and Genis said they trusted me so that had to be something, right?

Lost in my thoughts, I slopped on the bed and contemplated the ceiling. Sybak was a lovely town, though Presea seemed to dislike it. It was beginning to get dark when we entered its walls but we could still catch a glimpse of the university town. I especially liked the tall but narrow brick buildings and their steep roofs, the chimneys towering us here and there, and the calm and precise flow of young humans in dark blue uniforms. It was less fancy than Meltokio, but nonetheless interesting.

Things between me and the rest of the group had been getting better too. There were still a lot of unanswered questions between us, but I was definitely starting to feel more at ease around them. Well, I couldn't hold a serious conversation with Zelos, Raine was still suspicious of me, Genis was acting weird since the other night, and Colette and Presea wouldn't talk but... Still.

Sighing, I took a deep breath and wrinkled my nose. Didn't I need a bath? I got up, crossed the room swiftly and closed the bathroom's door behind me. Cleaning time! I haven't been bathing properly for what, three, four days? I probably smelled like... Dead fish or something. And my hair was all dry and unruly because of the wind and the ocean.

I spent half an hour washing my hair and untangling it painfully and patiently. How come Zelos' hair was so smooth and soft after three days of traveling? I let out a growl of frustration as I pushed another strand of cyan hair behind my shoulder, dreaming of my hair being that fabulous. Yadiel used to brush it all the time, so doing that right now reminded me of the distance between us now.

She wasn't always motherly with me, neither was she the most warm person but those moments were the most intimate we had. My caretaker would brush it softly, humming while untangling my cyan locks, and would braid it everyday. In fact, I had let it grow just so it would last longer. My friends didn't really understand that, they found it annoying if their mom would brush their hair. I never did, I treasured my mornings and evenings because Yadiel would run her long and elegant pale fingers through my waist-lengthy hair, smiling. And right now, in this bathroom, at a countless distance from home, I felt incredibly alone.

Sinking deeper into the hot water, I closed my eyes to chase the feeling away and tears blurred my vision, I still missed home, didn't I? I stayed there for a moment and got out of the bathtub, wrapping a towel around me. I burnt the tip of my fingers when accidentally touching the tap but didn't react at the sharp pain. My body and mind felt numb. I got dressed hazily and opened the door to the professor and Colette sitting on the blonde's bed. The latter had her wings out, by the way.

"Ah..." Was my brilliant remark, as I stared at the two of them, standing dumbly in the door frame.

"Kaylin," said Raine, getting up, "I've come to bring Colette here." Her tone was perfectly clear of any suspicion and I relaxed a bit.

"Oh, of course." I answered, wondering if my eyes were still red. Hot steam was coming from behind me and the fresh autumn air was chillier than ever in comparison. I shivered.

Raine's indigo eyes narrowed slightly as she spoke again. "Would you mind coming with me for a bit? I need to talk to you."

"Um, okay?" I replied nervously. She seemed satisfied with my answer and headed for the door. As she did so, I couldn't help but notice how the silver hair framing her pale face seemed so surreal in the moonlight. I might have a hair obsession.

"Well, aren't you coming?" Raine called me from outside and I felt my face turning red.

"Oh, yes, sorry."

We walked across the corridor and stopped in front of her and Presea's room, where Raine opened the door and showed me in. Her room was... disturbingly messy, for an adult that is. Various items were sprawled on a wooden desk, such as ores, chunks of several stones, an old helmet and a magnifying glass. Similar... Artifacts were gathered in a bag near the desk. Finally, books were piled up everywhere. On her bed, on the wooden floor, on achair, on Presea's bed, too. It was certainly not what I was expecting of a teacher but, then again, professor Sage WAS odd in a unique way.

I heard an irritated sound and realized I had been inspecting the room for almost a minute. I stood there awkwardly, and not knowing what to do with my hands I shoved them in my pockets. "So..." I began, "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?".

I looked straight at her and was surprised to see nothing but concern showing on her face, with doubt clouding her eyes. "Kaylin, where will you go after you've found your father? More importantly, where will you go if you never find him?" She asked softly, choosing her words carefully. I frowned at the sudden question. So that was what it was all about? Talking about my personal life?

"I've never really thought about that, now that you mention it." I paused, truthfully thinking about it. "I had planned finding dad and living with him, but I guess I'd find a job somewhere and settle down if it appeared he was unreachable. Maybe next to the sea, somewhere windy would be the best." I smiled at that thought. Yeah, the sea would be nice.

"I see..." She said, deep in her thoughts. I thought she was satisfied with my answer and began to leave the room but she grabbed my arm and a resolute look had settled on her pale features. "Kaylin, do you want to continue this journey?"

Heh? Where did that come from?

"Of course I want to! Weren't you the one who suggested it?" I answered, shaking my head in incomprehension.

"I wasn't thinking responsibly back then." Raine pinched her nose, closing her eyes. "You may get hurt, it's a dangerous journey we have ahead of us, I should have never asked you this in the first place. Genis told me about the wolf the other night." I smiled softly at her words. So that was it was all about.

"I knew that already. I'm prepared for anything." I said calmly, almost whispering.

"Are you sure? Sybak seems like a nice city to live in. You could start a new life here, and looking for your father would be much better without us." She crossed her arms, almost pleading. I nodded.

"Yes, I'm sure. I could always look for him tomorrow while you go to the Research Academy, right? Besides... I don't think I'm going to stay in Sybak forever." I finished, my smile fading.

Raine seemed to debate internally but apparently gave up. "...Understood. If that is your wish." She paused. "Lloyd and Genis seemed to have grown of you, too." She sighed, saying the last part more to herself than to me.

"Rest well, Kaylin." She smiled weakly, going back to her work sitting on the desk.

"Yeah, goodnight, thank you for everything." I said quietly, leaving the room.

In the corridor, I spotted Zelos nonchalantly leaning on the wall as I closed the wooden door. "Here you are, pup." He grinned, walking towards me.

"You were looking for me?" I tilted my head at his behavior.

...Has he been eavesdropping on us?

"Yup, yup. Had a few questions for you." I froze: abort mission, abort mission!

"Um, well, I'd love to answer your questions but I'm reaally tired, and I have to go to bed so... Maybe next time?" I said nervously, pushing him away as he leaned on me.

"You sure? I can always join you and we could chit chat all night long.. Or more if that's how you roll." He shot me a suggestive look and I rolled my eyes at him, walking towards my room.

"Whatever, goodnight Zelos."

"Heey! Hunny! Don't walk out on me like that!" He pouted, narrowing his eyes.

I smiled and grabbed the handle of my door. "Sweet _dreams_ Zelos."

With those words, I yanked it closed and left the dumbfounded redhead alone in the corridor. I sank down to the ground and sighed in relief. Great, now I had to avoid him at all costs, this was not going to be simple. And just what was up with me tonight? Sulking, I eventually saw Colette, still sitting on the same spot. I blinked as I gazed into her crimson eyes, glowing in a strange and unnatural shade.

"Oh hi, Colette." I said, getting up. Curious, I touched her hand gently, seeing as pale she was. It was frozen. My lips tightened at the miserable state she was in. I looked out the window as I tried to think of something to say.

"The night sky sure is lovely tonight, don't you think?" I smiled softly, staring at the familiar stars. "Oh, but you can't see from there, right?" I realized, seeing as she was facing the door.

I reached out to her. "Here, I'll help y-what the...?" Perhaps I had moved too quickly because I hadn't even touched her that I was on the floor. I blinked, touching my swollen wrist, and cringed when I realized Colette had squeezed it hard. Her crimson eyes looked down on me and I gulped. No, no, this was not the true Colette. She didn't mean to harm me. She didn't, right? I took a deep breath and forced a smile on my face as I slowly made my way back to her, this time taking her wrist gently, like I had seen Lloyd doing so, leading her to the window shakily.

"Here you are!" I smiled victoriously, appreciating the sight before us. Sybak at night was giving off a different atmosphere. The sky was clear and we could see the twin moons rising among the stars. The numerous lights were reflecting on the dark roofs as the city slept quietly. I didn't know if Colette could hear me or see this at all, but I guess that lifted a weigh within me. I had been so... Mean to Colette in the beginning. Fearing her, rejecting her, even if it was only for a short time. It was unfair to her, and I knew it, but I still did it. Judging her, like the people from my village had judged me for my appearance. I wasn't like them.

I took a deep breath and smiled, turning to Colette. "You're from Sylvarant, right? That means you don't know Tethea'lla's constellations, huh?" I took her hand gently and paused. "Here, I'll show you."

"See that weird W-like constellation, above this chimney? It's called the Wonder Chef. Actually there's a story behind that one. Well, more like a myth, but apparently, some people witness him now and then all around the world. Weird, huh? Apparently someone from my village learned how to do a short-cake from him. No one believed him but he still did wonderful cakes! Oh, and that one! See, it's called the Unicorn. Do you believe in unicorns? I've always wanted to meet one! I know, silly, huh? Hum, that one, the highest, is the Angel. This one's pretty cool, and that's the one with the most stars." I let go of her hand and stopped in my flow of words.

"Say, Colette, I want to show you something. It's a secret though, but I'm sure you'll keep it for you." I smiled sadly, looking at her cold and still gaze. "I... Even if you can't see me, or hear me, or whatever... I just want you to know that you're not alone." I lightly touched her frail fingers and relaxed my shoulder blades, closing my eyes. I bent my muscles and let out a small whimper as my wings tore out of my back.

I made sure her gaze was set on me and took her hands together, seeing the green glow reflecting strangely on her fair skin, giving her harder traits. "See, we're alike. I can understand some of your pain. I can share your burden, alright?" I smiled again, hoping and fearing at the same time that she'd somewhat get the message. "Let's be friends when you wake up, alright?" I then retrieved my wings back, the light fading with them.

I yawned, and realized I was awfully tired. "Well, I hope you'll enjoy the view. Goodnight Colette..." I whispered, sinking into the blankets. "May tomorrow bring you back to them.." The world blanked again, and I wiped silently while thinking of home.

* * *

White surrounding me, white everywhere. Clouds. I was flying. My hair was loose, oddly, and was dancing as the wind blew into it. I didn't know where I was, but that didn't matter much to me. I was just drifting aimlessly through the endless white coat of clouds. Somewhere above me was a greenish light. At first, I thought it was my wings' reflection but it turned out it was another person. I grinned as I recognized her anise hair and loving expression. Mom. Batting my wings, I extended my hand to reach her but she shook her head sadly and I was shoved on the side by a ruffle of wind. I looked up again only to find the white of the clouds. I was alone again.

* * *

I woke up with a small shout, shocked. It took me a few moments to regain my senses and recognize my surroundings. After realizing I was not alone (well, at least physically speaking), I shrugged off the weird feeling and got up, spotting Colette standing in front of the window, at the same spot I had left her the night before.

"Hey, morning Colette." I said hazily, remembering our one-sided conversation. "I hope last night has been alright." I added, looking for my clothes. I found them in the bathroom and put them on swiftly before reaching for my boots. I opened my mouth to say something else but was cut off by a rather loud knock on the door. "Yes?"

"Kay? You awake?" I chuckled at the muffled voice coming from behind the wooden panel.

"Nope I'm sleeping, obviously." I shot back, rolling my eyes.

"Just checking! Can I come in?" Lloyd's cheerful voice came back.

"Oh sure." I blinked. Just what did that boy want?

"Coming in, then!" He exclaimed, opening the door without further ado. I eyed him for a minute and frowned, something was bothering me about him, but what?

"Whoa your room is huge! That's so unfair, we're three and only got the half of it! Morning Colette!" Perplexed, I watch the brunette walking around for a minute and smirked in realization: his jacket was showing backwards. Of course Zelos and Genis wouldn't have said anything, those devious beings.

"Hey! You even have a good view on the plaza! We only got the inn's backyard." I triple dotted as Lloyd proceeded to inspect the room casually, opening the drawers and testing the beds, jumping on them.

"Err, Lloyd, that's not yours, put it back." I indicated, as the teen tried to put my cape on.

"Oh right, sorry." He grinned, probably only realizing then that I had been standing there the whole time. "I'm just so excited this morning!" Just like every morning, Lloyd. "'Sides your cloak is pretty cool!" I facepalmed at that. Was he seven or seventeen? He was already opening the bathroom's door when I cut him off.

"Lloyd.." I said in a warning tone. "You only came here to check the room out didn't you?"

The brunette gasped, turning back to me. "I-I... Err... Well, maybe so." I raised an eyebrow. "But I also came to tell Colette we were getting her back today! And that if we were late we would have no breakfast!"

I shook my head dramatically, this guy was just too- Hold on, did he just say breakfast?

* * *

And breakfast we missed, because of that dorky guy over there. "I hate you, Lloyd Irving." I announced, teeth gritted.

"Hehe, sorry Kay, I didn't mean it." The teen scratched the back of his neck, the two of us now standing in front of the inn with Colette. I decided to mess with him for a bit. It couldn't hurt him, and I was pretty crossed for missing breakfast as well.

"'Sorry'? 'Didn't mean it'?" I clenched my fists and pulled out my best acting skills. "Do you think **excuses** can make up for the greatest loss ever known in history?"

The look on his face was priceless. "H-hey, calm down, it's just breakfast, it's not such a big deal!... Right?" He exclaimed, alarmed.

"**Excuse me?** Are you insinuating that breakfast is just something you can skip and get away with it? Well let me tell you, my friend, that you're utterly and completely **wrong**!" I slapped him on the shoulder exaggeratedly and put my hands on my hips, huffing. "Breakfast is, not only the most important meal of the day, but also your daily supply of sugar, and sugar is life. Therefore, if you miss breakfast it's like not sleeping, or breathing, or walking, or... Whatever, you get the point." I finished, bobbing my head up and down in self-approbation.

Rendered speechless by my lecture, Lloyd settled for a look of disbelief, his mouth forming a slight 'o'. Okay... Maybe I had taken it a little too far.

"Wow, I had no idea breakfast was _that_ important!"

I turned my head and saw a genuine look of concern on his features. No way. He completely believed me there. I had to work hard not to break down in laughter as the brunette looked completely worried now.

"Don't worry, Lloydo, I forgive you 'cause you've got your jacket showing backwards and you look stupid." I teased him, dropping the act.

The effect was immediate, and the teen took said jacket off hurriedly, face flushed.

"Heyy, not fair, how come you didn't tell me that earlier? I swear I'm gonna murder Genis and Zelos." He pouted adorably, putting his jacket back in the process.

"That's because you're too fun to tease Lloydo." I smirked, poking his shoulder.

The door then opened and Raine, Presea, Genis and Zelos came out, having seemingly finished their breakfast. Urgh, breakfast.

"Morning everyone." Lloyd and I greeted them, and I noticed Genis snickering silently.

"You told him or he realized it?" he asked me, gesturing to his friend and I understood he was talking about the jacket.

"Told him, of course. He walked around like that in front of everyone in the inn though." I smirked as I saw Lloyd's decomposed face in the corner of my eye. He was definitely too fun to tease.

"Kaylin." Raine called me, and my face fell, preparing for a lecture. "We should part ways here so you can begin to look for your father now, should we not?" I discreetly sighed in relief. She did have a point here, although part of me kind of wanted to be there when Colette returned to herself. But it was also the best occasion for gathering precious information about dad.

"Yes, you're right. I think I'll do just that, then." I nodded, confident.

"Understood. I'll give you 200 Galds for lunch, I hope it will be alright." With that she handed me four iron coins, each worth 50, and I shoved them in my pocket, thanking her. "Oh, and I think this should take a while, so let's meet up at the Imperial Research Academy when you're finished. Is everything okay for you?" She added, her indigo eyes inquiring.

"Yes, I think I'll be alright, thank you once again." I answered, shaking a bit.

"Hey, do you really think Kaylin will be alright on her own? I mean, she's got no weapons and stuff and Sybak is pretty huge." Intervened Lloyd, slightly worried.

Aw.

"Lloyd, you think ISELIA is 'pretty huge'." Genis deadpanned, shaking his head. "Sybak is a university town, so everything is lined up, indicated, and harmless enough. Even _you_ couldn't get lost in a place like this." The young elf continued, gesturing to the omnipresent signs.

"Oh, okay then, good!" Lloyd turned to him, probably not getting the insult either.  
...Bipolar much?

"Well, I guess I'll see you round then!" I said 'casually', my heart skipping a bit at the thought of being alone in this town.

I mean, sure I was a big girl, I could take care of myself and all but... All in all, I've never been in that situation before and that was... Kinda scary. Only a little but though!

"Yeah, see ya Kay, take care." Lloyd briefly squeezed my shoulder, as if sensing my uneasiness, and shot me one of his Lloyd-like grins.

"See you later, wild pup." Zelos... Only waved a hand? I narrowed my eyes. Was it... Because touching me would make me uncomfortable? …Nah, Zelos didn't care right?

"Bye Kaylin!" Genis smiled.

"See you soon then." Raine said softly.

"...Take care." Finally spoke Presea, which surprised me, because she wasn't really keen on speaking in general.

Okay, maybe I really needed to work on my asking skills.

I waved as they took off, heading to a nearby street, Zelos leading them. Okay now, where to go...

Sybak, as said beforehand, was a really pretty town, and all of those students gave it a refreshing aura of... Youth? The buildings weren't as high or impressive as Meltokio's, but they were nice enough. The fact that Sybak was an university town, as Genis pointed out, made it really simple and safe, unlike the capital. There had to be... Four kind of shops or something? That sure made the traffic less astronomic.

My first guess was the library, since books equals documents equals archives? This one was pretty easy to find, since it was on the plaza I was currently on. How convenient, _author_ (Woops, breaking the fourth wall, ahem.). Pushing the library's heavy doors, I found myself engulfed in books' scent, and my scholar senses turned on.

Short story short, I pretty much strolled in the library for hours, picking books here and there, mostly about the ancient Kharlan war, the Elven age, and the Balacruft dynasty. I was so caught on my discoveries and the thrill of the moment that I completely forgot what I was looking for in the beginning, until someone came to talk to me. "Hello, can I be of any help?" A woman kindly asked, seeing me sitting on the floor. Yes, the floor.

"Uh? Oh actually, I've been looking for.." I paused, eyes widening.

"For...?" The librarian repeated, slightly confused.

"Oh crap. Do you happen to have archives like birth records?" I blurted out, panicked. For just how long had I been doing nothing useful?

"Um, miss, I'm afraid you're in the wrong building. We do have an archive center, but it's on the opposite side of town." I gaped in shock at her words, horrified.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Um, I'm sorry about that." She smiled apologetically.

My precious hours! Gone! Cursing myself, I thanked the librarian and took off.

"Um, the exit is the other way?" The latter indicated politely. I blushed and thanked her again, dashing through the piles of books.

"Hey! Who put those magazines there?!" I heard a man shouting.

"Um, I've never seen them before.."

"Yeah, right, and I'm the Wonder Chef." Came back the voice sarcastically. "I'm telling you, this is a library, not some cheap-" With that strange conversation, I reached the exit and came out on the plaza.

Outside, I ran like there was no tomorrow, going up the paved streets, not even bothering to look at the signs. We were south and that woman said it was on the opposite side of town, right? So if I just walked north it should be alright.

Sulking, I went on like this for a few moments and only then actually looked around.

I was in a street, obviously. Plebeian's street to be more precise but that couldn't exactly ring a bell. Um, so far, I hadn't seen any archive building and the weirdest thing was that there was no one around. Neither were there any signs. Furrowing my eyebrows, I went down the street, intending to find people but still, no one was there.

Hey, wasn't that supposed to be an active and dynamic town? With students and everything? Come on, they couldn't have deserted it like that! Walking down another four streets proved me wrong, and after half an hour of walking I had to admit it.

I was lost.

* * *

**Dun Dun Duuuuun! Cliffhanger! What will happen to Kaylin now that she's officially dumber than Lloyd? :o**

**Alright, the humor here wasn't very subtle, and the dialogues were ish too.. Meh, at least the chapter's there :p**

**Anyways, thanks for reading, don't forget to review!**

**Until next time! :D**


	9. Chapter 8: Worse Day Ever

Chapter 8 : Worse. day. ever.

**Hello I'm back! And only with a very small delay, woot! :D Alright, in my opinion, this chapter is better than the last one but I guess it depends on what you like ;) In this chapter, as the title points out, our dear Kay is having a very sucky day. Mahaha, I'm way too evil. :D**

**To my reviewer Dove: I'm glad you still liked the chapter, hope you'll like this one as well ;) For your propositions, well, none of them were right, but don't worry, Zelos will have his glory moments. x) As for the pairings, Zelly is my fav character so I'm most likely inclined to write about these two but I fear for you it will only be in the later chapters :/ Just like you pointed out, Zelos discovering about her being a half-elf is bound to happen and things will be a bit chilly between them for at least one or two chapters until they begin to talk normally... So the romance is not going to happen yet, sorry, and I'm still considering other pairings if someone suggests it. Anyway, for your last question, I try to update every week, more or less, considering I have highschool and stuff... -_- Thanks again for reviewing, enjoy the chapter! :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ToS, and it's too late for me to write a witty joke**

* * *

I couldn't believe this, I couldn't even consider the fact of being lost. Not once in my life had I thought of this possibility and here I was. But.. I could get out of this alone, right? I had my wings and... No, I couldn't use my wings there, definitely not. Then how about waiting for the others? Lloyd would come for me right...? Or would he?

All color drained from my face and, for a few moments, all I could hear was the blood pumping in my ears.

Ba-thump, ba-thump

The wind, bringing clouds from the east, blowing in my face.

Ba-thump

My legs, numb, frail little sticks trembling under me.

Ba-thump

The street, as empty as ever, shadow of a forgotten time. A forgotten time?

Ba-thump, ba-thump, ba-thump

My senses all came back to me at full force, and I gaped for air as I realized I had forgotten to breathe. That... That place was... I was familiar with this place! Of course I hadn't been there before but... It reminded me of something I had learned years ago.

I sat down to think for a moment, in the middle of the dusty street. I felt my heartbeats lessen and breathed slowly in and out, regaining my composure.

In situations like those, stress would definitely NOT help.

I gave my surroundings a closer look and struggled to remember what it was about. The ground, for an instance, was actually not as clean and lined up as the rest of the city. The houses, too, were badly kept in shape, with ragged planks blocking the windows and roofs threatening to fall at any moment. But the curious thing was that the architecture was clearly different, too. It was nothing like the brick walls we could see everywhere. In fact, it strangely bore a resemblance with Exire's architecture: heavy gray stone walls and flat roofs.

Other than that, it actually reminded me of Meltokio's slums but I was sure that was not it. Why would an university town have slums? Plus, the lack of population really made it hard to believe. Then what? What exactly could have made such a flourishing town look so unhealthy? After all, Sybak once was... the capital of Tethea'lla!

Of course that was it! How could I be so stupid? Those were the actual ruins of the first Thethea'llan capital! Sybak, the prosperous city of the Balacruft dinasty, destroyed during the ancient Kharlan war, rebuilt as Sybak, the university town! That was actually thanks to this reconstruction that Tethea'lla's technology improved, and was the beginning of a new age, symbol of progress. I thought the whole city had been rebuilt, but turned out I was wrong, because it was pretty obvious the buildings were just left this way. This part of Sybak was... abandoned, and that was the reason why no signs were to be seen. Unfortunately, that also meant I had no means of finding my way back, and that I was really stupid, too.

My excitement quickly died down at that last thought and I felt angry tears pricking my eyes. Who was I kidding? I just HAD to get myself lost! There was ONE thing I had to do on my own and I couldn't even get past it? What a crappy daughter of a goddess! I had lived in a VILLAGE my whole life, and I thought I could just travel the world on my own? I couldn't even find my way in a town without getting lost! Why did I have to be so damn arrogant? Did I think that because I was someone's daughter I could overcome any situation? Did I think I was special or something? I could have at LEAST asked someone to come with me! Arrgh, stupid, stupid, stuuupid!

I let out a cry of frustration and curled in a ball, unable to control my emotions.

"Nothing worse could happen to me now.." I sighed out loud, squeezing my eyes shut.

Just as if the world just had the sudden urge to prove me wrong it began raining. Hard. At first it was just a few drops, landing here and there on the back of my neck. But then, it began pouring like hell, a heavy curtain falling upon me.

"You've gotta be KIDDING!" I shouted angrily, swearing while getting up hastily.

I spotted a decent dry area and sheltered under the porch of a circular building. A lightning bolt was seen and I jumped at the sudden sound.

"Alright, genius, what are you going to do now..?" I muttered under my breath, watching helplessly the dense rain falling on the paved street. "Better get myself dry, huh?" I suggested out loud, eying the door frame of the ancient building standing behind me. Gulping, I took a few steps and grabbed the handle.

The door opened in a loud high-pitched sound, the outside's weak sunlight hitting the square patterns of a stone floor. Although it was difficult to see, the room was seemingly octagonal, and here and there, a few sun rays pierced from the round ceiling, along with some droplets of rain, creating a singular scenery. The walls were decorated by some half-dimmed paintings of some sort, even though they looked more recent than the building itself.

I took another few steps and, as it echoed in the silent room, I felt myself overwhelmed by the quiet and peaceful feeling it gave off, smelling of wet stone, rain, and old wood. A peculiar smell, yet, somewhat familiar. It was almost as if I was back in Exire's chapel. Could that building be... By any chance...?

Excited at the sudden thought, I loosened my fierce grip on my navy blue cape, and bit my lip in expectation as I lowered my gaze.

Relief washed over me as I saw a faint purple light glowing under my fingers, bathing the whole chapel in the same color as I removed them. Soon, the light was so intense it was unbearable, and I closed my eyes gently, as I had done it so many times in the past. "Open your eyes, sweetie." A sweet, clear voice rang in the empty room after a few seconds. Mom's.

Obediently, I lifted my eyelids and a delicate face came into my view, green eyes full of love, a wrinkle between her eyebrows as she frowned in worry, mouth slightly pinched, sign that something was bothering her, and her long, long, gorgeous straight anise hair, falling to her waist. Oh, that, and she was translucent, too.

"Mom!" I grinned brightly, happy tears straining my view at her sight. "I-I'm so glad to see you!"

She seemed puzzled for a moment upon seeing the room we were in, but chose wisely to ignore that and smiled fondly at me. "I'm glad to see you too, honey." She murmured, at last. "I'm really glad."

That was when I noticed how relieved she looked, her shoulders relaxed and her cheeks pink. That was a new sight to me: had she been this worried about me during these four days?

"Kaylin, dear. Where have you been? Why didn't you contact me?" My mother asked. _I was worried sick_, her large eyes and strained expression said.

"I, I'm sorry Mom... I fell down and ended up on the Ground, and then I couldn't go in any church without people being there..." Her eyes went wide at my words, and she paled slightly while moving her hand to her chest.

"Please make yourself clear, Kaylie, you said you _fell down_?" I looked at her and I knew I had to tell her everything, or she'd probably die all over again from stress.

So I told her everything, from my miraculous fall to this very moment, sparing her no details. I especially insisted on the group's qualities, how kind they were and how dear they were to me already. She didn't interrupt me once, listening quietly and understandingly to my story all the way through. She seemed shaken by some events, including Presea, strangely. When I asked her about it, she only gave me a vague answer: "People... Prayed for her sake." But she didn't tell me more, encouraging me to continue my ranting.

In the end, she let out a halfhearted smile, joining her hands together. "Well, I guess it was about time for you to leave Exire, right?" She sighed, gazing at the paintings."My baby is on an adventure... You're just like your parents, aren't you?"

I smiled at her falsely exasperated behavior, because I could see a proud smile tugging at her lips just before she turned her head.

"Yes, I guess I am." I mused, sitting on a nearby bench, then gasping when it cringed under my weight. She let out an amused chuckle and sat beside me, her green and brown dress spreading gracefully under her.

"So, you're looking for Yuan, aren't you?" My mother spoke, green eyes lightning up at the mention of dad's name.

"Yeah.. Didn't do such a good job at that up until now though..." I sighed, reminded of my current situation. At least mom was there: sweet, gentle form of life. Caring, kind, and strong; Understanding, compassionate, and loving. So many qualities I didn't have.

"I shall answer your questions about you father if you wish to." She smiled again, placing her hand on my shoulder. I couldn't feel her hand at all but a tingling sensation replaced it, spreading through my body.

"You... Oh." I stopped, realizing she knew more things than any paper could hold. "Of course you would, how stupid of me." I chuckled nervously, nearly slapping myself for that. Mom then reprimanded me for depreciating myself like that and asked me teasingly if I thought about her at all. She then told me my father's life story, story she had been reluctant to tell me all about before.

It turned out my father was a Sylvaranti, he was born in Asgard, the city of winds, and grew up there. He then joined the army in his early twenties and met my mother, her brother, and their friend. They fell in love at first sight and ended the war together, and that was when mom had me.

"Th-that's all?" I asked afterward. "Didn't he say something about going somewhere, or settling down in some place? Surely there's something you're not telling me, right?"

She shook her head at that, and smiled sadly. "No honey, we had planned on traveling around to stop discrimination after the war." She closed her eyes and a few bangs hid her face. "But that never happened."

My face decomposed and I began trembling. "There's nowhere I can go, then? How am I supposed to find him now?" I got up brutally, making her jump. "I won't give up! I'll find dad and we'll live together, just the three of us! I-I can't give up just yet!" I shouted, a look of determination set on my face. Mom's eyes widened and she did something I never expected.

...She laughed. A genuine laugh, crystal-like. It sounded like the little bells Yadiel and I had suspended in front of our door in the summer. Her cheeks were slightly pink and she looked pleasantly surprised at the same time.

"A-are you making fun of me?!" I blushed, not used to see her in this state.

She simply shook her head, wiping her eyes and getting her breath back and I found myself quite vexed at that. Finally, she gazed up at me and her eyes were surprisingly warm. "No baby, not at all. You just looked so much like your father right now."

"R-really?" I exclaimed, proud of bearing a resemblance with my dad. I dropped the annoyed facade and grinned, much to my mother's delight. I found myself happy, secure, and blessed for seeing my mom, even in a place like this. I hoped this moment could stretch and go on forever.

It was at that moment a part of the ceiling collapsed right above us.

"KAYLIE!" I heard mom shouting, and I quickly stepped aside, as the bench I had been seating on a few moments ago was crushed by the heavy stone peddle. I paled as I saw it going right through mom, though reducing the wooden furniture to pieces.

"M-mom!" A crackled voice came out of my throat as I realized tears were wetting my cheeks. Mom was intact, she was intact.

"I'm alright dear, I'm alright, so don't worry. Just a little startled." she regained her composure, "You should do something about that cheek though, sweetie." She added, and I realized a chunk of stone had cut me. I didn't care, I kept staring at her.

"Kaylie? Baby, are you alright?" She looked worried now, and her hair was as clean as ever, even though this big stone had... had... "Kaylin Ka-Fai!"

I snapped back to my senses, tears still streaming down my cheeks. We could never be that happy family, right? Not as long as mom was in this state. She was DEAD. And that was what bothered me. She couldn't feel the soft pressure of her skin on my own, she couldn't hug me, and that was so... Unfair! So unfair to her of all people! She couldn't feel anything, eat anything, she couldn't even SLEEP. She was trapped in a world where she heard all of the atrocities going on, and could only go out of this madness when she was with me. It was so... Wrong. Anyone would have gone insane in this kind of situation, but she handled it without any pain showing. But she was hurt, of course she was. And it had taken me 12 years to realize that.

I guess I took it for granted that my mom was a 'ghost' as the popular tales would call it. I never really thought about it, it was natural, right? But no, no, it wasn't! And I needed a freaking rock to go through her body to realize that. Such a wonderful daughter I was.

"I'm sorry mom, I'm sorry." I cried out, wiping my cheeks from that strange mixture of rain, tears, and blood. She seemed to understand, she always did, and simply smiled. "It's okay darling, it's okay."

"Does it hurt?" I asked, not sure if I was talking about the rock or the situation itself.

"No, it doesn't, baby, it doesn't." She shushed me, likely answering both. "You should get out of this building now, the rain has stopped." She observed, pointing to the ceiling.

"But, if I do, you'll disappear! Plus I don't know where to go!" I whimpered, my voice weakening.

"It's okay, if you need me you'll always know where to find me. To find your way back, follow the sun. It sets west in this planet, if I remember right, and we're more likely in the eastern part of the city." She hurried me, frowning slightly. "Seriously, you'll be fine, Kaylin. It's dangerous to stay in this building" She added, more softly.

I eyed her for a few seconds and sighed, giving up. "Alright then." I turned to the door. "I'll contact you as soon as I can, I promise! And I'll find dad, too!" I shouted, as she began disappearing.

"I'm sure you will, Kaylie, I'm sure you will." And with that, she vanished, leaving me with a sorrowful taste in my mouth.

"Mom..." I whispered, "I won't deceive you this time." I clutched my exsphere in my hand and began running again, lead by the sun.

* * *

The distance was shorter than I thought, and, soon enough, I began seeing the first familiar brick houses. It turned out I was only a few minutes from the little chapel, and I felt kind of dumb for not noticing it, but I was still very lucky for finding a chapel just like that. I even had what I was looking for, but, unfortunately, that lead me nowhere. I guessed I just had to travel a lot until I encountered him, who knew what could bring us together? Smiling with strength, I made my way through the still wet paved streets and quickly found the inn we had been staying at.

I wasn't even late for the meeting time we had set up! It was approximately the middle of the afternoon, so I'd say, perhaps 3pm? Everything was alright for now, I just had to go to the Imperial Research Academy... Following the signs, this time. Crossing the plaza, I found myself surrounded by nasty looks. I probably looked like a mess, with my soaked hair and clothes, and my cut on the cheek. Perhaps people here held a grudge against bad hygiene? Either way, it was getting really annoying and I suddenly understood why Presea didn't like that town. I forced myself to avoid looking at them, and looked for the Research Academy instead.

I did just that, and was surprised to see it was situated on the city's docks, facing the ocean. The salty air was still smelling of rain and I filled my nostrils with the strange scent. I almost enjoyed the smells of this world as much as its sights. So, so many scents and wonderful landscapes were to be discovered! That was a rejoicing thought.

Tearing myself from the bright blue ocean, I faced the large building and found myself fascinated by it. Such a huge place devoted to science... If I was born on the Ground that would probably the place I'd choose to work in. I mean, I loved science, progress was captivating me, and I loved to learn new things as well. This place was surely heaven for people like me. As I walked near the metallic doors, I was stopped by a guard standing there.

"Hey kid, you're not a student, what's your business here?" He asked, towering me from a good few inches. I was not wearing the school uniform, huh? So that was how things worked here? ...Okay and I probably looked like a homeless person, too, but that was not my point.

"Um, I'm supposed to meet up with the Chosen and his group, you should know who he is, right?" I played the clueless act, not really relaxed seeing the spear he was holding.

"The Chosen? Give me your name, I'll ask." He said, surprisingly cooperative. Hmmh, wasn't that a bit of a déjà vu? When I told the guard we were working for the Pope and it turned out he was already inside? Yup, definitely.

"That's Kaylin." I answered, even though I slightly doubted Zelos remembered my name at all. The guard only nodded and went inside of the building, leaving me standing there for a few minutes. He came back a few moments later, opening the door for me and I thanked him quietly, entering the building.

The sight I was immediately acquainted with was one of a large, or rather ENORMOUS skeleton of a dragon, sitting in the middle of the entrance hall. I squealed at the uncommon display and glared at the guard when I heard him chuckling at my reaction. I then spotted a familiar silver-haired woman, ogling the huge skeleton like a big candy. I smiled in relief at the familiar face and called out to her. "Professor Sage!" I yelled, causing a few scientists in lab coats to glare at me. The young woman turned to me and her face fell.

"Kaylin? What in the world happened to you?" She asked, probably referring to my bleeding cheek.

"Kaylin? Did something happen to Kaylin?" Genis came out of nowhere, wearing the same worried face as his sister.

I opened my mouth but was suddenly cut off by another frowning face coming into view. "Hey, hey, hunny, what happened to such a cute face like yours?"

"Nghh, no need to come so close Zelos!" I shrugged him off awkwardly, grabbing him directly by his face.

"Oww, and here I was, checking on my soaked little puppy. Why are you so cruel to me?" He cried dramatically, as if I had just broken his nose.

"Seriously, stop calling me that..." I sighed, not liking his reference to my.. deplorable state.

"Woah, is Kaylin there?" A voice came from a nearby corridor, and Lloyd showed up, contributing to the list of people pronouncing my name today. He was holding a necklace in his hand, and was sweating a lot, too. As he came into view, he noticed my cheek and his face fell as well. "Kay, what happened to your face?" he exclaimed, driving everyone's attention on me.. _again_.

"Can't someone just first-aid me already or something?" I sighed, blushing from the unwanted attention. Raine probably agreed to that because my cheek was soon engulfed in a soft green light and the sting was gone.

"Hey! Bud gets to give her a nickname and _I'm _not allowed to?" Zelos intervened, not improving the situation greatly.

"That's because mine is cooler- Hey, what'd you just call me?" Lloyd shouted, taking the bait. Oh dear, please someone stop them or we'll still be there tomorrow.

Apparently, Raine had a telepathic mind today, because she heard my prayer and knocked some sense into these two.

Raine then quickly filled me in and told me that Lloyd had been fixing a key-crest for the last two hours, and that now they hoped it would work. That was quite a surprise to me, that Lloyd could do something this good. I have been seeing him carving stuff before but that necklace here looked pretty awesome.

I watched silently as the teen made his way to the blonde, holding the necklace carefully. "Okay! I think this will do." he announced, determination set on his face as he looked at it, eyebrows furrowed and slightly parted lips. "I didn't think I'd be giving you your birthday present like this." He added, looking straight at her. "I've attached a Key-Crest to the necklace I made. It's late, but... it's my present for you." He finished, and I could swear I could see his eyes watering. Mines definitely were. Lloyd was... So kind, and so honest... He didn't deserve that suffering.

I crossed my fingers as he placed the necklace around Colette's neck, searching for the faintest sign that she was back.

...There wasn't. She was as soulless as she was the minute before. Her eyes were still crimson red and she didn't move at all.

Lloyd then took a few steps back, and disappointment was clearly showing on his face. "Colette...? Can you hear me?" He tried again, his voice shaking.

"How is it?" asked Genis, approaching the blonde himself.

Lloyd then sighed and shook his head, staring at Colette. "It doesn't seem to work..." The teen sounded cruelly disappointed, and I would've lied if I said I was as disappointed as him. Sure, I was, but I was sure it was nothing like the way he felt.

"What now?" Asked Genis, looking at Raine, the most responsible adult here.

"How about asking Dirk for help?" The latter answered, making me raise an eyebrow. "Dirk?" I repeated, interested. "Is he some kind of skilled craftsman?"

Lloyd, remembering that three of us were kept in the dark, answered "Oh, he's my dad. And yeah, he is quite skilled too."

I nodded, slightly flushed at my unnecessary question.

"But Dirk's in Sylvarant." Genis intervened, mildly worried. "And the Reihards are out of fuel!"

Lloyd seemed to reconsider it and frowned, eying the people in coat labs running around "Maybe the people here at the academy might know of a way..."

So that was it? We were going to Sylvarant?! Just after mom had told me I would most likely find dad in there? That was the luckiest day of my life! The convenience was killing me, I-

Before my brain would have started to implode in excitement, I was suddenly cut off by a panicked womanizer.

"Hey, hey, hey! Wait just a moment! Aren't you people forgetting something?" He intervened, making a face. "I'm here to keep tabs on you! I can't just let you go back to Sylvarant!" We all deadpanned at him. Well, now he was going to follow the rules? He wasn't even believing it himself.

"Well then, just come along with us, o compassionate Chosen One." Lloyd spoke up, voicing our thoughts.

"What? Are you serious?" Zelos shouted, and I glared at him, wanting both Colette's recovery and my free trip to Sylvarant. That was when Raine did something unexpected.

"You're kind to girls, right?" She cleverly pointed out, taking one step in his direction...Well now that was out of character. She was going with the subtle approach, right? I could do that too.

"Yeah it's to save Colette, You'll keep quiet about it for us, right?" I _fluttered _my eyelids, placing a hand on his arm. Zelos eyed me curiously and I internally swore: now _this _was way too out of character.

Unexpectedly, the redhead sighed in defeat and sneaked an arm around my waist, jumping on the occasion. "Great. How am I supposed to snitch after hearing that?" he whined, shaking his head.

"Okay then!" I grinned, satisfied with his answer and escaping from his hold. "Now, all we need is fuel, right?" I asked cheerfully, while everybody's face froze.

I frowned slightly, what was up with them all of a sud-

That was when I saw them. Six Papal Knights, all in heavy armor, surrounding us with their massive spears. And they were pissed. How didn't I see that coming?

"Chosen, we heard what you said right now." One of them declared, pointing at Zelos. "We hereby declare you and your companions to be traitors attempting to destroy Tethe'alla."

Wait, what?

"Hmph, well that was perfect timing, Mr Papal knight." The redhead pointed out casually, his face morphed into one of disdain.

"It's by the Pope's orders." The latter answered, making me confused. "We are to watch you for suspicions of plotting against the throne."

"Heh. Now that's amusing. I'm the one who's plotting against the throne?" Zelos challenged, sarcasm obvious in his voice.

I stared at them in shock. T-t-traitors? Plotting against the throne? Was the Pope onto us or something? What the hell was going on? Why wasn't Zelos saying anything?

"Restrain them and take a sample. Don't touch the angel. If you approached her carelessly, she'll kill you." The same Knight signaled, pulling out a _syringe _from his pocket. He then grabbed the nearest person next to him, happening to be Lloyd, and firmly plunged the instrument into his neck, making me wince in horror.

"Ow! What are you doing?" The latter cried, rubbing the spot.

"Criminals undergo biological tests before they are arrested. It's because of the caste system here." The redhead explained, sounding awfully bored, "Some half-elves don't look any different than humans. It's necessary to detect them."

I paled and Lloyd and I exchanged a frightened look before I felt something digging in my neck. I let out a small cry and the syringe glowed in a strange blue light. Was that... Mana? "KAY!" Shouted Lloyd, restrained by two Papal Knights.

"It appears we have a match." The man behind me said with disgust, handcuffing me and pushing me in the back. I held back my tears and fought not to glare at him. He was certainly allowed to hit me at this point.

...Fuck! How could I let this happen? One second I was alright and the next I was handcuffed? I-I... That couldn't end like this! I hadn't gone this far just to be thrown in jail after four days!...What was going to happen to me?

"S-Sir! We found a match too!" Two other Knights exclaimed, and I turned my head in surprise. In front of them, two silver-headed siblings were looking down in shame. _Raine and Genis_?

"Genis! Professor!" Yelled Lloyd, still thrusting against the hold of the men restraining him.

"So, we have three half-elves!" Papal Knight n°1 commented, snickering. _You bastard_.

"...half-elves? Is that true?" Zelos asked, eyes widened and... and... a disgusted expression showing on his features as well. And it hurt. It hurt to see him like that. Because the others had accepted me so quickly, without even knowing me, but I had actually _talked _with Zelos, we had _laughed _together, and if it wasn't for his constant flirting, we could actually be...

"That's right." Raine finally raised her head, a look of hurt crossing her features. I was perplexed. If she was, why didn't she tell me? More importantly, why didn't she tell Lloyd?

"Raine!" Genis cried, on the verge of tears.

...Oh, so that was why. It was true, Genis was so young, of course he was afraid. I suddenly remembered the weird conversation we had that night when he defended me against the wolf. He had been wanting to talk to me... Was he planning to...?

"There's no point in trying to hide it now." Raine continued, looking at her little brother sadly, but gently.

"These pathetic half-elves have engaged in shameless caste deception." The man declared, and I positively wanted to break his neck now.

"What did you say?" Glowered Lloyd, gritting his teeth angrily "The Professor and Genis are much better people than you! Who cares if they're half-elves?"

"Lloyd..." Whispered Raine, moved by his words, as I was moved by his. Genis seemed like he was going to faint at any moment now and was crying abundantly.

"I don't know what it's like in your world, but over here, half-elves are at the bottom of the caste system." Zelos pointed out and I lowered my head, pierced by his weird, unZelos-like stare. It was true, unfortunately, we really were not born in the right world.

"Half-elves guilty of crimes are all executed without exception." A Papal Knight declared, drying all color from my face.

"E-Executed?!" I choked, not believing his words. I-We were going to DIE?

"That's insane!" the teen blurted out, echoing my words.

"Shut up, half-elf!" The knight standing right beside me kicked me in the gut, leaving me breathless. "Take them away." Their chief announced, setting the sentence like he would ask for bread.

...Alright, today was definitely _not _a good day.

* * *

**No it was not x) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading, let me know what you thought about it and don't forget to review! :D**

**Until next week! ;)**


	10. Chapter 9: Convicts

Chapter 9 : Convicts

**Hey there my lovely readers! :) Okay I'm sure some of you noticed I've stopped posting chapters once a week, and I've been gone for a few months now. My computer actually died on me in November and I lost all my data. I was quiet depressed of losing all my hard work but I finally came round this difficulty and I'm submitting chapter 9 today ;D I'm very sorry about this inconvenience, I did read the reviews you posted though, and they greatly helped me to rewrite the chappie :p **

**I now would like to write about something that happened in my country, and I'm sure most of you must know what I'm talking about. I know there is absolutely no connection to this fanfic but I wanted to say it anyway, to show my support. Wednesday, there was an attack in Paris on a satirical newspaper: Charlie Hebdo. There were 12 deaths, and 4 jewish people died yesterday as well. I'm French, and I'm Charlie. Je suis Charlie. Thanks for reading.**

**Anyway, onward with the story**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ToS, Namco does, I only own Kaylin**

* * *

The sky had that sickening blue color to it. It wasn't gray or light blue or anything indicating to our situation, really. The clouds were gone, washed away by the wind, and all that remained was a perfectly cloudless blue sky, filling my vision while I walked out of the Academy. The ocean was only a shade darker, and the mid-afternoon autumn sun shone brightly upon it.

A lazy daze had taken hold of the harbor and only several people turned their head at the unusual show, three half-elves in handcuffs, followed by five Papal Knights. Soon, their curious gazes became ones of disgust and whispers replaced the lazy silence. After a few minutes, a crowd had gathered around us, and whispers turned into insults and shouts. My eyes were glazed and hazard as I walked mindlessly through the now crowded streets, spears teasing my burning sides so I would walk faster. In the corner of my eye, I saw a mother taking her children inside, while the father joined the angry gathering of people. I wanted to scream.

A stone flew.

"Filthy half-blood!"

Another followed.

"Monsters!"

"Scum!"

Everyone had the same face, the same mask of hatred, some of them even spat at us. They didn't even know us. The kind librarian from earlier could even be among them at this point, because everyone was the same. _Humans_ were all the same.

Bitter filled my mouth like poison and my eyes burned from looking at those people. No, they couldn't be qualified as people, _they_ were the monsters.

A stone hit me in the jaw and pain blinded my vision. I couldn't even raise my hand to wipe the blood away and I felt it making its way down my neck and under my shirt.

"Hey, stand back! We have to bring them alive to the capital!" Some knights waved their weapon threateningly and the crowd slightly backed out, still glaring.

I glared back and brought my attention to the Sages. The Professor looked... hollow, her face was pale as death, and she shielded her brother protectively while they walked, trying to keep her composure still. She avoided my gaze though, and her indigo eyes were shifting to any spot but mine.

Her younger sibling, on the contrary, kept looking at the ground, and that was when I was reminded of how young Genis really was. He always had this mature point of view and intelligent thinking, so much different from Lloyd who was yet a good 5 years older. I always seemed to forget what his real age was and now more then ever, with the tears straining his cheeks, his shut eyes and trembling little body, Genis was unquestionably twelve. And the cruelty of this situation seemed even more realistic and ridiculous. A _kid_. Genis was a _kid_! How could anyone throw a stone at a kid, let alone a _handcuffed kid_? That was beyond unfair, beyond cruel, beyond sick.

What if the kid was a half-elf? Who the fuck decided you could sentence a kid to death?

Hot tears of rage formed in my eyes and I held my chin high, refusing to lower my gaze again. I clenched my jaw when the hilt of a spear hit me in the gut, and glowered at the Knight behind me. My wrists hurt too, the enchanted cuffs plunging into my flesh painfully. They had to be a bloody mess by now, quite literally.

I bit my lips and after a few minutes, hours, moments, we were outside the town's walls and the walk of shame ended.

I concentrated on my footsteps to pass the time, counting them. It was the only way not to break down in tears or scream in horror. A cold sweat had begun to run down my spine as I took notice of the reality of the situation again. We were really going to die, right? An escape plan was impossible to set up, the handcuffs were not allowing us to use magic, and even if we found a way around them... I had no weapon and two mages didn't stand a chance against five berserk-type soldiers. Therefore, freeing ourselves was out of our range. I sighed in defeat, spotting the sun setting to my right and slowly drenching the sky from its colors as the minute passed.

After a few moments, a faint sound was heard and I soon realized it was a fit of sobs coming from Genis. I looked away and focused on the now darkening landscapes, feeling too direful to look at him in the face, his sobs tearing my heart out.

After a few hours and when the torches became of no use to walk properly, we set camp in the middle of the plains, the knights sending us on our knees while they prepared the open fireplace. Genis had stopped crying and Raine had bags under her eyes: we could use a good night's rest, huh? The knights took their helmet off and I sat painfully on the hard floor, the smell of earth and wet grass filling my nostrils. I found myself discovering our guards' face with curiosity, the only way to know about them being their muffled voice and their jabbing spears.

The tallest one, also the loudest one and, I assumed, the chief of this group, had rough features, filling the stereotype of the bad guy. He had icy gray eyes and a three-day beard, an crooked nose and a matching crooked smile. His hair was a dusty mix of brown and gray, and his armor seemed to be the only thing kept clean about him. I never caught his name and honestly couldn't care less either way but I tried to take every detail in before... that day.

The second one was the most decent of the bunch, not that any man molesting half-elves 'just because' could be considered decent, but he actually seemed a little weirded out about his own actions. His name was something like Randal or Randill, I hadn't really listened either. This one had dark brown eyes and chestnut hair, he seemed pretty young and I didn't give him more years than Raine. He was the one guarding Genis, and actually seemed to realize that he was leading a child to his death, not that he was doing anything about it either. I briefly wondered if he had any children or younger siblings but then shook my head and moved on to the others.

The third one was the one that had stabbed me in the gut, and probably the most vicious of the bunch. He actually wore an all-but-innocent grin at the moment, and answered the lovely name of Jabbers. I wasn't sure if it was a nickname or if his parents had a very bad sense of humor, but that kind of suited him. This name took a sick pleasure of seeing us wincing or whimpering and made sure to jab us with his spear whenever he could. He was the kind of guy who could watch a kitten dying and genuinely smile at the sight.

The last one was reminding me of a statue, quite frankly, and the man remained a mystery. He wouldn't speak a word to any of them and only gave curt nods to his chief in acknowledgment. It was quite disturbing but still better than Jabbers' constant barking, which he seemed to be bearing as well. Cole was his name, I think. He seemed to be a Meltokioan noble, from his straight posture to his typical physique: ash blonde hair, small blue eyes. He wasn't insecure like Randal but didn't look at us with hatred like the other two did; instead, he looked at us with this strange mixture of an almighty and righteous stare, like he was the bloody carrier of the goddess' will. How ironic could it get?

I stared at them for a while, decrypting their conversations, and finally rested my head on the grass. I hated them all.

I shifted in my position to find a comfortable way to lay down without hurting myself with the handcuffs and took a deep breath. I didn't want to think, I just wanted to sleep and forget it all. Forget that tomorrow, we would walk restlessly until sunset, and the day after that, too. Forget that my bleeding wrists and burning sides. Forget about Genis and Raine, how we would all die before the end of the week. Forget about mom, or dad, or anyone else. I just wanted to lie there ans pretend everything was okay, that I wasn't in this scary world but still in Exire. That people had not just thrown stones at me. At us. Half-elves.

Raine and Genis... Were half-elves all along, huh? Ironically, I had hoped they were, a few days ago. I didn't expect them to hide it like they did, so I took it for granted and just accepted the fact that they were elves. I now remembered Raine's shocked face and Genis' scared one then; they had been surprised, hadn't they? Of course telling strangers you were a half-elf wasn't a thing to do here, right? Telling friends, even, as it seemed.

"Here." I suddenly heard and jerked my head up to meet Cole's face. The latter was impassive and I didn't understand what this was about, until I saw his extended hand.

...He was giving me food?

I cautiously considered the piece of cereal bread sitting in his hand. Was it poisoned? Did he want to kill me off before the execution?

"I'm not waiting all night." He glared at me, seeing my lack of response and my wary look. I slightly nodded, wide-eyed, and wordlessly grabbed the food, not wanting to pass the chance of being fed, if that was really the case.

The man then quietly went back to his occupations, leaving me wondering about his motives. Were they feeding me poison or on the contrary gave me food so I wouldn't collapse before reaching the capital? Did that even matter?

I swallowed back my question and attacked the cereal bread, slightly remembering the delicious blueberry muffins from Meltokio's inn with wonder. The bread was hard but it surprisingly filled my empty stomach quite quickly, seeing as I hadn't eaten since... Holy crap, that was one entire day! I never did eat lunch yesterday as well, huh? With all that running around and totally failing excursion. Lloyd had made us miss breakfast and... Wow, how come I hadn't noticed? Never mind that, my hunger was settled now, and it looked like Raine and Genis had gotten some as well.

* * *

I couldn't sleep that night, too many things were spiraling in my head, and my thoughts altered between despair and anger, or maybe some of each. I could tell none of us got sleep, after all, and I was apprehending the day to come: we had yet two other days of walking awaiting us and then... And then... Death. Would it be painful? Would it be quick? Would they do it in public or in secret? How was I supposed to sleep with all of those morbid questions running through my head? At least, other people had a goddess to pray to...

The next day was one of stress and tiredness, as predicted. None of us having gotten enough sleep, we weren't in shape for walking miles and miles without taking any break and by the end of the first morning, we were all exhausted. I had stopped dwelling on my own thoughts and actually sought comfort from Genis and Raine, slipping little words here and there, squeezing their hand while the guards were talking. Genis was... Well he had not recovered at all and looked devastated, with his puffy red eyes and slumped shoulders. He had a nasty cut on his forehead with blood coagulating, and I couldn't even cast a first aid to help him out. Her sister, on the other hand, had seemed to change her behavior slightly, and responded to my signals unlike her younger sibling. She was taking on the role of the mature adult in this, and always kept a look on the both of us, despite having little power in this situation.

At some point we stopped for lunch, and received another piece of cereal bread and some water. I felt like my stomach was stretching and tearing my insides as I chew on my bread, my legs aching from the previous walk. As I had some time to spare, I decided to discreetly eavesdrop on the Papal Knights' conversations.

Jabbers and Cole were talking silently, keeping their eye on us.

"H-Hey, you!" I heard another voice shouting. In alert, I quickly turned to the voice's source. Randal was pointing at Genis at the other end of the camp site. The latter looked like a deer caught in headlights and was desperately looking for his sister. Unfortunately, Raine was nowhere near him and couldn't do much except look at them in fear, powerless. "I-I-I'm sorry sir, I'm r-really sorry, I'll eat it." Genis whimpered, bending over to grab something on the floor. All eyes on them, Randal frowned and told his partners off. "I've got this, guys." His last statement made me pale in horror as I watched him taking Genis away, disappearing from our sight.

"NO!" yelled Raine, getting up, ready to rescue her little brother. "Wait, Raine!" I grabbed her forearm before she could get herself whipped and she glared at me. "What do you think you're accomplishing, here? You'll get yourself injured, and judging from these guys," I pointed to the three remaining, "You won't get away with this lightly."

She struggled in my grip for a few moments but finally, exhausted, she slumped her shoulders in defeat, "I'm sorry Kaylin, you're right, I shouldn't be acting like this. I should know better, but Genis..." I cut her off. "I can't promise you that Genis will be fine but... They're not supposed to kill us now, and the guy who took him doesn't seem like such a bad guy." I answered, sharing my thoughts.  
"Doesn't seem like such a bad guy? You're sure you know who you're talking about?" she raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "I know this is stupid but... I just feel like he's not that cruel." I shifted my gaze to where the two of them had disappeared, somehow hoping Genis was safe and sound. "Well, we'll see..." Raine added, her face becoming paler and paler as the minutes passed.

Behind us, Jabbers, Cole and the chief were still conversing animatedly. "I still don't get why we should feed the scum." Jabbers announced, shining his axe

"Every prisoner deserves to eat, drink and defend himself at the trial. It's the law." Cole replied, his piercing blue eyes set on the loud man.

"Ha! We both know there's no 'fair trials' for halflings! Dogs can survive one day or two without eating!" Jabbers barked, and I felt my jaw clenching by itself. Trials were unfair, too?

"This is our duty as Knights serving the kingdom. We must carry on the law." Answered the strict man, glaring slightly at Jabbers.

"We're serving the Pope, Cole." intervened the chief, quiet until then.

"And the Pope serves the King. Don't you have any sense of honor? The kid gets it, at least." Cole glared fully at both of them, nearly getting up in his anger.

"He's a deluded fool, and so are you." Replied the chief coolly, his icy gray eyes daring him to make a move.

I suddenly caught a movement in the corner of my eye and saw Genis and Randal return, the silver-haired boy looking down so I couldn't read his expression.

"Here, and make sure I don't catch you dropping your food again!" The knight pushed Genis in the back and joined his companions. I quickly inspected Genis for injuries but found none as he faintly smiled at her sister while she hugged him. Which made me wonder: what had happened? It was surely the first time I had seen the kid smile since we left the Academy. I watched Randal with curiosity as he packed his weapons and joined the knights' conversation. _Was _he a nice guy, after all?

"What are you looking at, half-elf? We're leaving." I jumped in surprise at the 'chief's' voice, and quickly got on my feet, still stealing glances at Randal. As everyone prepared for the seven-hour walk, Raine shifted closer to me and caught my gaze, looking at the young knight herself. "I can't believe it... You were right, Kaylin." She said softly, gesturing to her brother. "About what?"

"This man, Randal, is it? He didn't do anything to Genis. No, even better, he gave him another bread. His bread." She announced, seemingly shaken and relieved at the news. My eyes widened as I processed the information. "You mean he helped him out?".

"Stop standing there, you filth! Or do you want me to shorten your shackles?" A voice cut us off, making us hurry over to the death march. We still had a long way to go, didn't we?

* * *

The rest of the day was exactly the same as the morning, and the following day followed that same pattern, constant walking, occasional insults, and as I walked closer and closer to my death, I strangely became more aware of my surroundings. I wasn't certain of why, or how that was even possible, but my hearing sharpened and my eyesight too. I noticed it at first when I heard the brigands coming, on the morning of the second day, just half a day before reaching the bridge.

At first, it was just a faint sound, barely recognizable. But then, I could definitely hear footsteps coming from behind us. But every time I looked, there was no one. I thought I was turning nuts, then, but I soon heard lots of other sounds like birds chirping or the wind shaking the trees. I had freaked out, of course, wondering how the hell I could hear those, and thought that maybe I was hallucinating. The nearest tree was miles away. And the weird thing was that I could see it. What would have been a blur the day before would become clean and clear if I focused on it. It looked like I could dilate my pupil at command.

And then, I saw them, the group of travelers, or brigands, it was impossible to know. A good distance away from us, and they were running. They were four, maybe five, and at this rate they would quickly catch up to us in the afternoon. I couldn't decipher their faces or genders, or anything, but after a few moments staring, I could tell there were definitely five of them, so they weren't Lloyd, Zelos, Colette and Presea. Not that it was possible in the first place. I decided not to tell Raine about it, for she probably couldn't see them, and would ask me questions I couldn't answer. Why did my senses sharpen like this? Could it be because of my weird exsphere? How come it happened now, then?

With all of those unanswered questions, we continued our tiring journey, and I couldn't help but compare it to our previous travel. These days had been fun, and we would play tag to chase away the boredom, but now, the days couldn't stretch more, and I felt like this had been going on for way longer than two days.

The occasional sobs from Genis had stopped, and Raine looked less tired since the Randal incident. I think Genis thought he would save us from the execution but I wasn't so convinced. Randal was kind, but obedient. He felt bad for us but wouldn't go as far as to risk his job or go to jail because of us. I didn't resent him for that, surprisingly. I think I came to understand that he was born this way and he had no choice in this conceited society. His surroundings wouldn't let him have a choice.

I chuckled darkly at this thought. How stupid, feeling sorry for someone when I was about to die, way to go Kaylin! But this was okay, wasn't it? Even if I didn't find mom when I died, because she was confined in that exsphere I wore, it was okay. I had seen the real world. I had seen the Ground, and I knew the worlds were going to be reunited and that my mother's wish would be granted. I was just sad that I didn't get to say goodbye to Yadiel before I died. And that I didn't get to see my dad, too. Would he ever know he had a daughter? Would he ever know he had a daughter that loved him and admired him even without knowing him? Would he be sad, then?

There was no more sadness filling me. Only regrets and sorrow.

We reached the bridge just when it was getting dark, and Cole lit a torch so we could see where we were going, before the closure of the drawbridge. The echos of the running footsteps were becoming closer and closer now, and I swear I could hear their feet hit the bridge when we were halfway to the other side. After a few moments, I was no longer the only one to hear them. The knights began shifting and turned around a few times but could see nothing, the mist separating our pursuers from us. After a few moments, everyone had realized what was going on: that people were running in our direction. And that they were fast.

"Hurry up!" Shouted the chief, "We must cut them off by lifting the bridge!".

Raine and Genis turned to me, an unspoken question showing on their face.

Were these people who we thought they were?

I couldn't answer that question, and I was beginning to doubt myself. Could I be mistaken? Were these brigands not brigands but... Friends?

We were forced to run to the other side, and when turning my head for the hundredth time, I saw him.

Lloyd.

Stunned for a moment, I stopped running and stared at him. There was no doubt, this red outfit couldn't belong to anyone else. I smiled, and felt tears pricking my eyes. _Thank you._ A blow to the head snapped me out of my trance.

"What are you doing, idiotic girl? Keep standing there and I throw you in the ocean!" Jabbers yelled in my face, and I could only smile at him. I didn't care. They were going to come for us, they were going to free us, and we were going to live. Startled at my strange behavior, the huge man grabbed me wordlessly and dragged me behind him. We quickly reached the end of the bridge, and the humans working there activated the drawing process. I frowned and looked at the slowly lifting bridge: could they make it?

"Sir! They're jumping!" Randal shouted after a few tensed minutes, his face one of incredulity. "They're the Chosen and his group!"

"They're stupid, let them be. They'll die if they fall from there." The chief snorted, sheathing his sword. "Let's keep moving."

"Err, sir?" Randal said, his face becoming paler and paler as he spoke. "They made it!" "-What?!"

A wave of relief washed over me as I heard his words. They did it! We were safe! Weirdly enough, they didn't have to run to us either, as they were carried by a stream of glowing water. I blinked at that, but decided to worry about that later.

"Genis! Raine! Kay!" I saw Lloyd jumping in front of the knights, which had formed a line in front of us.

"Lloyd..." Breathed out Genis, stunned by his best friend's apparition.

And all hell broke loose.

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**Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review! ;)**

**Until next week! :D**


	11. Chapter 10: Reality

Chapter 10 : Reality

**Hiii! I'm back! Sorry for the BIG delay. I did have some problems, writer's block being one of them so... Yup. I'm not really proud, I hope you won't hate me. **

**Thank you for all the nice reviews, I did read them, so yeah, I'm happy. **

**This chapter is kinda dark, and there's some blood in it, so don't say I didn't warn you :p We will also see a side of Kaylin we're not used to. You'll probably start to hate her, well, it depends on your level of compassion I guess :p**

**I don't own anything, as always, enjoy this chapter! ;)**

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I watched numbly as swords clashed against one another, the moonlight barely lighting the scene up. It was such a big blur of colors and sounds it was almost confusing. I had never seen a real fight until then, just children's games and practice sparring, but everything was so _vivid_ it made my eyes swipe in so many directions, but at the same time they could follow them without thinking.

I wanted to join them, I wanted to fight too, and part of me wanted to prove them how capable I was at weilding a weapon, how hard I had trained during all these years. I wanted to surprise them and show them I wasn't weak, but my hands were shackled, my knees were shaking, and I was dead tired, as were Genis and Raine. So I could only watch.

Despite the obscurity, I could still see everyone's face, it was quite fascinating. Lloyd fought with his two swords against Cole, who was barely keeping up with him. In fact, the both of them were exhausted and their movements were slow. One having walked around in an armor for days and the other having ran for days continuously. Lloyd's fighting stance was basic and assertive, and his blows were strong, while Cole's stance was versed, but his years and his armor did make him a bit slower than the seventeen year-old.

There was a fifth person there too, and seeing her had made me pleasantly surprised: Sheena. She was mind blowing, her fighting style was swift and fluid, and I recognized ancient wind cards, weapons rarely used nowadays and known to be a secret art only compliant to ancient families of Mizuho. I thought it to be a legend too, once.

I shifted my gaze and turned to the youngest girl of the group. Presea was... Surprising. As she had shown to us in front of the church, she was very strong, and swung her ax forwardly, without any expression on her face. Colette was... Not fighting, surprisingly so. I guess the soldiers knew how to behave when confronted to her, so she was just oddly standing there, her pink wings faintly lighting the scene and her red eyes glowing in the dark. I tried not to shiver and moved to the last pair of fighters:

Randal and Zelos. Zelos was... Amazing. The way he fought looked like he was dancing. It was obvious the difference of level between the two of them was wide. As the young guard was barely keeping up and adopted a hesitant fighting style, Zelos' was fluid, precise, and the smirk on his face contrasted with the sweat forming on his forehead. It was weird I could see sweat at this distance, now that I pointed that out. Come to think of it, I could also see the tiny freckles on Lloyd's neck, the details on Sheena's cards and the forged pummel of Cole's heavy sword, probably bearing his family heraldry, a lion with jade eyes. It was almost as if I had-

The sound of something plunging into flesh brought me back to reality and made me spin on my heels. Paling, I felt my eyes widening as I took in the surreal sight. Presea had flung her ax in Jabber's gut, his blood spilling on her boots. A disgusting sound came to my sensitive ears and I heard a grunt of pain coming from the man. A second later, Cole was falling to his knees. I didn't even know how I knew it was him as my eyes were glued to Presea's bloodied boots, but I just did. And then, and I couldn't look away from it, I couldn't walk away from the horrible sight of Randal, the young Randal who had given Genis his own bread, who looked at us with pity, Randal throwing up blood, a dagger stuck in his throat, and Zelos Wilder stepping aside not to waste his white pair of pants.

The scene seemed to freeze as I tried to take a deep breath, watching Zelos wiping his bloody dagger on the body. He didn't even glance a second time to look at his face. If he had, he would have seen the man he had killed was just a boy. Killed. He was killed? On the spot, just like that?

Reality then slammed into me as Sheena administered her last blow to the chief, his body falling to the ground with a heavy thud. Tears ran freely on my cheeks, and I couldn't help but watch.

Every guard was knocked out, that meant we were free, I should have been happy, right? Every one of them was racist and I knew Jabber could have done the job of killing us himself, but Randal was... Randal was...

I resisted the urge to throw up and put my hands on my knees, my head spinning and my face draining of all color. I tried to think rationally, it was wrong to feel any sympathy towards these guys, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that Randal was probably on his very first mission, he wanted to do good, maybe he had a large family, maybe he wanted to make his father proud, and he had to obey blindly to orders he disliked. I had seen the look on his face when he looked at Genis, and it was not full of hatred. And he was so young, so, so young. I was already regretting learning their names.

"Professor, Genis, Kaylin, are you okay?" A voice called, but I could only see the blood. Crimson red, as Lloyd's outfit. I briefly wondered if the color was the reason he wore it, to hide the blood stains who'd stay forever, but I dismissed it, shaking my head. Now, I prefer to say that I dismissed that thought because I thought Lloyd was a good person, but the truth was that I actually didn't want to know. What did I know about these people, except from the final outcome? What told me their story was not made up? I did only just met them one or two weeks ago, and I saw them killing people with cold blood. Getting on my knees, I threw up on the floor, my throat sore from the cruel lack of water.

I heard voices again, but I was not really paying attention. Raine and Genis asking forgiveness from Lloyd and everyone for not telling them, Lloyd being ridiculously compassionate, then all of them noticing me and suddenly interrupting their heartfelt conversation.

Raine's boots approached and she crouched beside me, breaking my shackles and rubbing my back even though she probably was exhausted. "It's over now Kaylin, it's all over." I probably didn't give her a coherent enough response, because I was soon shouldered by Sheena and drug to my feet. I quickly wiped my mouth, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lloyd helping Genis up and Raine a few feet away healing everyone's wounds, probably on the verge of passing out herself. I felt dumb for letting Sheena handling me, but I couldn't fight against tiredness anymore, and leaned eagerly on her purple shoulder, trying to ignore the smell of blood.

I croaked out a question somehow, which made Zelos whirl around in surprise, astonishment spreading across his features. Even my voice sounded strange to my ears. I avoided his gaze, I couldn't look at him in the eye, not after I had seen this. I didn't hear any answer, so I spoke a little louder this time, "Did you kill them?"

"I-I don't know Kay, don't you think they deserve to?" Lloyd asked, confused.

"Some of them will live." Raine muttered, pointing towards Jabbers and the chief with her chin. For some reason, my panic died down, and something else settled in me. I let out a sigh. I just wanted to sleep. "I see." Was it... Sorrow?

"Well, I'd love to continue this conversation later, but we have to get going, y'all. We kinda are fugitives now." Zelos said, as tactless as ever.

"Wait!" Exclaimed Raine, facing the group, "I still have something to ask."

"Go ahead." Lloyd indicated, still shouldering Genis.

"Lloyd is okay with us, but what about the Tethe'alla half of our group? Do you mind if we join up with you?"

I stared. What the hell, Raine? They didn't save us to see us off! But, in a way... I still didn't know what Zelos and Presea's opinion was about us. I couldn't say I didn't want to know.

"I said it to Kaylin once and my belief didn't change since then, I'm all for it. Don't worry, we're not that different." The ninja smiled, and I saw Genis relaxing a bit.

We then turned to Zelos, who shifted uncomfortably under our stares, oddly out of character. "To tell you the truth, I can't really say I'm kosher with this." He scratched his head, but then raised a finger thoughtfully. "Then again, people have always treated me differently, saying that I'm a descendant of angels. So in a way, we're a lot alike."

Yeah, except from the fact you were idolized and we were treated like cattle.

… On second thought, we actually _were_ quite similar. Me and him. Wings, angels and goddesses included. I still couldn't bear the sight of him though. Not yet.

Raine nodded, accepting his answer and finally turning to Presea.

"I just want to go home..." The little girl said, and I tried not to think of the blood drying on her ax. I shifted my gaze again, this was too disturbing. But, on the bright side... Hey, I was going to live. Why wasn't I happy and grateful as I should be, then?

"I see, it's settled then." Raine smiled, a relieved smile, like all of the weight she had accumulated during all these days- no, these _years_ seemed to crumble into pieces. I couldn't help but feel a little bit envious, I had to carry the weight of my lies until the end.

"By the way, why is Sheena here?" Genis asked out of the blue, sending a curious look to said person. Oh yeah, what was she doing here?

Sheena then cleared her throat and stepped forward, looking serious. "I have orders from my chief, I'm supposed to observe your activities."

"That's typical of Mizuho, they're trying to decide if they should side with the King or you guys." Zelos snorted, ever the spirit lifter tonight.

"So now we have two people keeping tags on us." Genis observed, making a face. Sheena panicked.

"But I'm not trying to do anything or to get in your way or anything! So-so-"

"We know that already, you're a honest person, perhaps to a fault." Raine cut her off smoothly, and I tried not to wince as the guilt got a hold of my chest. I wasn't the most honest person out there but... I had good reasons, right? It wasn't for an ulterior motive or anything, it was just so everyone could be safe, wasn't it?

"At this point, I'm okay with anything." Lloyd grinned, "Now we just need Sheena to get those Rheairds working!" He cheered, and Sheena became white as a sheet. "Volt?!"

"Sheena?" Presea inquired, oddly.

"Ah, nothing." She quickly dismissed, blushing, and I stared at her, perplexed.

"Then shouldn't we go get the Rheairds first?" Zelos suddenly suggested. "Either way, Volt's temple is on the other side of the Grand Tethe'alla bridge. It will be faster if we pick up the Rheairds, since the bridge is closed off right now."

"Pick up? How are you planning on moving these things?" Lloyd frowned, probably thinking of the old painful way. With a wing-pack, duh, people use them all the time at home. But I couldn't say it out loud. Lies, lies, lies.

"Hehe, just leave that to me." Zelos winked, "I prepared a secret weapon just in case something like this happened." Yeah, a wing-pack. Genis beamed.

"What secret weapon?" A wing-pack.

"It wouldn't be any fun if I spoiled the surprise!" Definitely a wing-pack.

"Now let's get going! To the Fooji Mountains!" Zelos stroke a pose and began walking ahead, his hand resting on the hilt of his dagger. His previously dripping, bloody dagger.

"I can't believe we're going to climb that mountain again." Loyd complained, and Raine hit him on the back of his head, without much strength. I smiled bitterly, wondering how many miles we had to walk again to get to the Fooji Mountains, but I didn't feel like complaining, so I didn't say anything, and helped to set up camp after walking a reasonable distance from the bridge, leaving the bloodied bodies of the four men behind us. I didn't exactly grow fond of them during those three days. In fact, I probably hated them all and wanted nothing more but for them to die, but seeing them getting butchered in front of me like that? It was hard to take. Perhaps I was a coward, perhaps I just valued life too much, but it's a disturbing sight to see anyone getting killed either way, even when one deserves it, even when one knows the risks. It was still disturbing, and I could only imagine what it was like to take a life myself. That arose questions, but they were still unanswered as I was lulled into sleep, a sweet lullaby drowning my senses and painting the world in black, not noticing my exsphere was slightly glowing.

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I didn't dream that night either, and woke up at dawn. I dug my fingers into the sand and breathed in the salty morning air, surprised at not feeling any shackles depriving my hands from movement. The pain was still here, and my wrists were bruised, but the shackles were gone. I cracked one eye open, then two, and all of my memories began to rush back to me. The bridge, the night, the running, the excitement, the relief, then the blood. Blood on Presea's shoes. Blood on the ground, blood beating in my ears. I remembered throwing up too, I remembered Randal getting killed by Zelos, the latter not accepting us, and the bodies... Why did I have to look? They weren't all dead, two of them survived, but still...

I sighed and got up on my feet, testing the waters. My head wasn't dizzy, I was just probably very hungry. I had lost some strength and needed to regain it. I looked at my surroundings and recognized the spot we had camped on the very first time. This night had been filled with hope and joy. I had watched my first sunset on the Ground, everything was new then, it still was now, but I think I started to grow less naïve since Sybak. I remembered Raine's horrible cooking, the sandwiches we had eaten, Lloyd telling me he would help me to find my father, Lloyd telling me we were friends. Friendship, huh? Why did it sound so lame, now? I sighed, rubbing my eyes. Water, I needed water.

Voices made me look up but I saw no one, so decided to find its source, careful not to step on Genis, Raine, Sheena and Presea, spread on the ground and snoring lightly. This left Colette, Zelos and Lloyd, and I doubted Colette would talk at all so my guess was that Zelos was bugging Lloyd or was trying to corrupt him.

As I approached, it appeared that the voices did belong to the two of them, but the nature of the conversation seemed rather serious. Instead of letting them see me, I sat behind a large rock and eavesdropped.

"So you're going to discriminate them too, huh?" Lloyd was asking, rather loudly, and it dawned on me they were talking about us. The half-elves. I grew really quiet and listened intently.

"I'm sure it sounds like that, but you've got to understand, I've been educated this way since birth." Zelos snapped, sounding rather annoyed. "Half-elves are stupid, savage, filthy creatures."

My eyes widened at his words and I took a few steps back, his words sinking in my brain. "Stupid, s-savage? _Filthy_?" I repeated, stunned. He said it so confidently too, like it was common knowledge. I barely heard Lloyd's heated answer and went back running to the campsite, blinking tears back. Again.

"C'mon Kaylin, everyone doesn't have to automatically like or accept you, you know?" I laughed nervously, wiping my eyes, full of tears threatening to spill. "You knew it! You were prepared for this the moment you stepped a foot on this ground!" I kicked in a pebble, hating myself for getting so easily controlled by my emotions.

"Then why? …Why does it hurt so much?" I whispered, my voice cracking on the last word and my teeth digging in my lip. I numbly realized there was blood when another voice was heard, this time coming from the opposite direction.

"Woah, it's heavy! Do you swing that thing around?"

It sounded like... "Sheena?" I asked, wiping the blood and the tears altogether.

"The ax's weigh increases the destructive power." I heard Presea stating dully, still close enough so I could hear her breathing.

To my surprise, they were nowhere near, and I started to think I had been hallucinating when I found them another 100 meters away. The hell? Now that I thought about it, a lot of weird thing had been happening to me since I had been taken by the Papal Knights. Extended eyesight, night vision, extended hearing, all pointed towards legit angelic powers. Mother had told me about those, expecting them to appear when I got my wings, but none ever came and I hadn't really thought about it ever since. So why in the worlds would they appear at such a time? Oh but, did that mean I could lift heavy charges too then? A light bulb metaphorically appeared on top of my head, whatever a light bulb is.

Excited, I ran all the way up to where Sheena, Genis and Presea were standing, going straight to Presea.

"Um, good morning guys, hi Presea, could I borrow your ax for a second?"

"Okay." The girl said, handing over her huge ax and placing it in my open hands.

"Don't even try to lift it, this thing is h-" Sheena was cut off by the sight of me lifting the ax effortlessly. With one hand.

The weapon was surprisingly light, and weighed hardly more than a normal sword. This was awesome. "Wow, this is actually easier than I thought!" I grinned, stars shining in my eyes as I passed it from one hand to another, noticing Genis and Sheena's faces decomposing as I played with the weapon.

"Thank you, Presea." I smiled innocently, handing her the ax back. Meanwhile, I pondered if I could buy an ax just to mess with them, then remembered I didn't have any money. Damn.

"You're welcome." She answered politely, then went to sit on the ground for no apparent reason.

Sheena's jaw was practically hitting the ground at this point, and she was still gaping at me when Lloyd and Zelos came back. My smile disappeared as soon as I saw them and I frowned. Zelos was laughing and Lloyd was barely keeping his grin back. All of a sudden, I could see them again, covered in blood. I could hear all of Zelos' comments again. I could see Lloyd unfazed by murder. I surprisingly didn't resent Presea, she was always that way, but Lloyd...

"I'm going to wake Raine up, okay? Just cook breakfast or something." I exclaimed while turning away from them, shaken. My tone must have been bitter because Lloyd flinched and approached me. I backed away.

"Kay... Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I retorted feebly

"But you won't look at me in the eye!" he insisted, and I spun around.

"I'm telling you I'm fine!" I snapped. His eyes widened

"O-okay then..."

I ignored him and walked away, not really intending to find Raine, stomping on the sand. I suddenly hated him. I hated his outfit, he didn't even need to wash it to make the blood stains go away! I hated his clueless look, playing innocent when he had just killed someone. I hated his lack of humanity, his fake corny speeches about friendship and tolerance. I hated the way he acted all concerned, I hated his stupid hair and his stupid swords, I hated this smile he wore everyday without failing, I hated the way he spoke, the way he said my name. I'd rather have Zelos insulting me and calling me filthy. That'd make more sense at least.

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**Aaand there we go! I know, this chapter was short, but I really wanted it to end here. So tell me what you think about it in the reviews:**

**Do you think Kaylin is right? Did you expect it? Will she stay mad at Lloyd? Will the plot finally progress? x)**

**I promise I definitely won't make you wait that long for the next chapter,**

**So until the next one... Don't forget to review**

**See ya! :D**


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